Mosaic Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NYSE:MOS)

The Mosaic Company (NYSE:MOS) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Thursday. Stock investors purchased 15,559 call options on the company. This is an increase of 60% compared to the average daily volume of 9,737 call options.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on MOS shares. Bank of America cut their target price on Mosaic from $49.00 to $43.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. Wall Street Zen cut Mosaic from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, September 13th. HSBC reduced their price objective on Mosaic from $35.00 to $26.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 24th. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on shares of Mosaic in a report on Tuesday, November 11th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $28.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Mosaic from $35.00 to $31.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, December 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $31.73.

Mosaic Stock Performance

Shares of MOS stock traded up $1.40 during trading on Thursday, reaching $26.70. 3,835,655 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,795,241. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $24.78 and its 200 day moving average is $30.67. The company has a market capitalization of $8.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.94, a PEG ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 0.94. Mosaic has a 1 year low of $22.36 and a 1 year high of $38.23. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26.

Mosaic (NYSE:MOS) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The basic materials company reported $1.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.03 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $3.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.87 billion. Mosaic had a net margin of 10.33% and a return on equity of 6.46%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.34 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Mosaic will post 2.04 EPS for the current year.

Mosaic Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 9th will be paid a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 9th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.3%. Mosaic’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.80%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Mosaic

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Fiduciary Alliance LLC bought a new position in shares of Mosaic during the 3rd quarter valued at $1,969,000. Scotia Capital Inc. boosted its position in Mosaic by 395.1% during the second quarter. Scotia Capital Inc. now owns 87,556 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $3,194,000 after buying an additional 69,873 shares during the period. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. grew its stake in shares of Mosaic by 65.7% during the second quarter. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. now owns 157,267 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $5,682,000 after buying an additional 62,338 shares during the last quarter. Vinva Investment Management Ltd bought a new position in shares of Mosaic during the second quarter valued at about $621,000. Finally, Gradient Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mosaic in the third quarter worth about $12,678,000. 77.54% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.