Brokerages Set The Mosaic Company (NYSE:MOS) Price Target at $36.42

Key Points

• The Mosaic Company has received a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from analysts, with a 12-month price target averaging $36.42.
• Mosaic's stock is currently down 1.6%, trading at $33.39 with a market cap of $10.60 billion.
• Institutional investors made significant adjustments, with First Horizon Advisors increasing its stake in Mosaic by 172.5% during the second quarter.

Shares of The Mosaic Company (NYSE:MOS - Get Free Report) have earned an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the fourteen brokerages that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $36.4167.

A number of analysts have commented on MOS shares. Scotiabank cut their price objective on shares of Mosaic from $42.00 to $39.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 11th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Mosaic from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Mosaic from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 5th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Mosaic from $40.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Mosaic from $38.00 to $34.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 7th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mosaic

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of MOS. First Horizon Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Mosaic by 172.5% during the second quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 684 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 433 shares during the period. NBC Securities Inc. purchased a new position in Mosaic during the first quarter worth about $26,000. Bangor Savings Bank purchased a new position in Mosaic during the second quarter worth about $26,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake in Mosaic by 169.3% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 956 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 601 shares during the period. Finally, Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA purchased a new position in Mosaic during the first quarter worth about $27,000. 77.54% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Mosaic Price Performance

Mosaic stock traded down $0.24 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $32.46. The company had a trading volume of 1,882,771 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,462,413. The company has a market capitalization of $10.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.00, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.99. Mosaic has a 12-month low of $22.36 and a 12-month high of $38.23. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $34.77 and its 200-day simple moving average is $31.51. 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 (NYSE:MOS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The basic materials company reported $0.51 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.71 by ($0.20). The company had revenue of $3.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.11 billion. Mosaic had a net margin of 8.35% and a return on equity of 4.74%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.54 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Mosaic will post 2.04 EPS for the current year.

Mosaic Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 8th will be paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 8th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. Mosaic's payout ratio is 29.83%.

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.