Stock Traders Purchase Large Volume of Call Options on Mosaic (NYSE:MOS)

Key Points

• On Thursday, stock traders purchased 18,158 call options for Mosaic, marking an 81% increase in trading volume compared to its daily average.
• Mosaic reported Q2 earnings of $0.51 per share, falling short of the $0.71 consensus estimate, with revenue of $3.01 billion.
• Analysts have mixed views on Mosaic, with ratings ranging from strong buy to hold, and an average price target of $36.42.

The Mosaic Company (NYSE:MOS - Get Free Report) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Thursday. Stock traders purchased 18,158 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 81% compared to the average daily volume of 10,048 call options.

Institutional Trading of Mosaic

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Mosaic by 36.1% in the 1st quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 56,284 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,520,000 after acquiring an additional 14,943 shares during the period. Yousif Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Mosaic by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 53,172 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,436,000 after acquiring an additional 685 shares during the period. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. acquired a new position in Mosaic during the 1st quarter valued at about $1,119,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in Mosaic by 19.9% during the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 47,186 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,275,000 after buying an additional 7,828 shares during the period. Finally, Vontobel Holding Ltd. increased its stake in Mosaic by 12.8% during the 1st quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 23,543 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $636,000 after buying an additional 2,663 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.54% of the company's stock.

Mosaic Stock Up 2.0%

MOS traded up $0.72 during trading on Thursday, hitting $36.65. The company had a trading volume of 1,576,735 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,349,120. The company has a market cap of $11.63 billion, a PE ratio of 12.42, a P/E/G ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 0.99. The business has a 50-day moving average of $33.89 and a 200-day moving average of $32.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 0.44. Mosaic has a 1-year low of $22.36 and a 1-year high of $38.23.

Mosaic (NYSE:MOS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The basic materials company reported $0.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.71 by ($0.20). The company had revenue of $3.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.11 billion. Mosaic had a net margin of 8.35% and a return on equity of 4.74%. The company's revenue was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.54 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Mosaic will post 2.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Mosaic Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 8th were paid a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 8th. Mosaic's payout ratio is presently 29.83%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Zacks Research raised shares of Mosaic from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 14th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Mosaic from $38.00 to $34.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Mosaic from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, September 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Mosaic from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Mosaic in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Mosaic has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $36.42.

About Mosaic

The Mosaic Company, through its subsidiaries, produces and markets concentrated phosphate and potash crop nutrients in North America and internationally. The company operates through three segments: Phosphates, Potash, and Mosaic Fertilizantes. It owns and operates mines, which produce concentrated phosphate crop nutrients, such as diammonium phosphate, monoammonium phosphate, and ammoniated phosphate products; and phosphate-based animal feed ingredients primarily under the Biofos and Nexfos brand names, as well as produces a double sulfate of potash magnesia product under K-Mag brand name.

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