The Mosaic Company (NYSE:MOS) Given Average Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

The Mosaic Company (NYSE:MOS - Get Free Report) has received an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the thirteen research firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $34.58.

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. Wall Street Zen cut Mosaic from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, June 7th. CIBC boosted their price target on Mosaic from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Mosaic from $29.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on Mosaic from $33.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, BNP Paribas upgraded Mosaic to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th.

Insider Activity

In other Mosaic news, SVP Walter F. Precourt III sold 18,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.73, for a total transaction of $643,140.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 128,546 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,592,948.58. This represents a 12.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.86% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Mosaic

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Mosaic by 169.3% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 956 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 601 shares during the last quarter. NBC Securities Inc. bought a new position in Mosaic in the 1st quarter worth approximately $26,000. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA bought a new stake in shares of Mosaic during the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. Allworth Financial LP raised its position in shares of Mosaic by 102.3% during the 1st quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,062 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 537 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mosaic during the 4th quarter valued at $41,000. Institutional investors own 77.54% of the company's stock.

Mosaic Price Performance

MOS stock opened at $36.13 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $32.26 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $28.17. Mosaic has a 12-month low of $22.36 and a 12-month high of $37.69. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. The company has a market cap of $11.46 billion, a PE ratio of 31.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.14.

Mosaic (NYSE:MOS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The basic materials company reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.45 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $2.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.70 billion. Mosaic had a return on equity of 4.91% and a net margin of 3.32%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.65 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Mosaic will post 2.04 EPS for the current year.

Mosaic Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 19th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 5th will be issued a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 5th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.44%. Mosaic's payout ratio is currently 75.86%.

Mosaic Company Profile

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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