The Mosaic Company (NYSE:MOS) Receives Average Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

The Mosaic Company (NYSE:MOS - Get Free Report) has earned an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the thirteen research firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, six have assigned a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $34.58.

Several research analysts have commented on MOS shares. Royal Bank of Canada raised shares of Mosaic from a "sector perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $30.00 to $40.00 in a report on Thursday, May 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Mosaic from $29.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Oppenheimer raised their target price on shares of Mosaic from $33.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Barclays reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $40.00 target price (up from $33.00) on shares of Mosaic in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Mosaic in a report on Thursday, March 13th. They set a "buy" rating and a $31.00 price objective on the stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Mosaic

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MOS. NBC Securities Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Mosaic in the first quarter worth about $26,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Mosaic by 169.3% during the 1st 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 last quarter. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA acquired a new position in shares of Mosaic during the 1st quarter worth about $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 worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 537 shares during the last quarter. Finally, R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Mosaic during the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. 77.54% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Mosaic Stock Performance

Shares of MOS stock traded down $0.12 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $35.92. 3,690,891 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,702,517. Mosaic has a 12 month low of $22.36 and a 12 month high of $36.21. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $29.63 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $27.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a current ratio of 1.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.39 billion, a PE ratio of 31.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.09.

Mosaic (NYSE:MOS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The basic materials company reported $0.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.45 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $2.62 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.70 billion. Mosaic had a net margin of 3.24% and a return on equity of 6.00%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.65 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast 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. Investors of record on Thursday, June 5th will be given a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 5th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.45%. Mosaic's dividend payout ratio is presently 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.