The Mosaic Company (NYSE:MOS) Receives Consensus Rating of “Hold” from Brokerages

The Mosaic Company (NYSE:MOS) has been given an average rating of “Hold” by the eighteen analysts that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $31.00.

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut Mosaic from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $24.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Mosaic from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Mosaic from $35.00 to $31.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, December 9th. Wolfe Research cut their target price on Mosaic from $37.00 to $36.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Bank of America lowered their price target on Mosaic from $39.00 to $33.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 8th.

Mosaic Stock Up 2.3%

Shares of MOS opened at $27.79 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $27.21 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $28.70. The company has a quick ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The company has a market capitalization of $8.82 billion, a PE ratio of 16.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.97. Mosaic has a 52-week low of $22.36 and a 52-week high of $38.23.

Mosaic (NYSE:MOS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 24th. The basic materials company reported $0.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by ($0.26). Mosaic had a net margin of 4.49% and a return on equity of 5.80%. The firm had revenue of $2.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.02 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.45 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Mosaic will post 2.04 EPS for the current year.

Mosaic Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 9th will be given a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 9th. Mosaic’s dividend payout ratio is currently 52.07%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Mosaic

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MOS. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Mosaic by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 39,123,171 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $942,477,000 after acquiring an additional 461,524 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in Mosaic by 6.6% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 13,407,136 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $322,979,000 after purchasing an additional 830,985 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its holdings in Mosaic by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 13,174,708 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $317,379,000 after purchasing an additional 240,146 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in Mosaic by 28.9% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 11,840,398 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $285,235,000 after purchasing an additional 2,653,969 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Mosaic by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,479,395 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $203,916,000 after buying an additional 63,822 shares during the period. 77.54% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Mosaic Company Profile

Mosaic Co is one of the world’s leading producers and marketers of concentrated phosphate and potash crop nutrients. The company’s primary business activities center on the extraction, processing and distribution of phosphate rock, phosphate-based fertilizers and potash products. These core nutrients are essential components in modern agriculture, supporting crop yields and soil health across a range of farming applications.

In its phosphate segment, Mosaic operates mining and production facilities that convert phosphate rock into concentrated phosphates, finished phosphate fertilizers and feed phosphates for animal nutrition.