Brokerages predict that Mosaic Co (NYSE:MOS) will announce earnings of $0.08 per share for the current quarter, Zacks reports. Two analysts have issued estimates for Mosaic’s earnings. The lowest EPS estimate is $0.01 and the highest is $0.11. Mosaic posted earnings per share of $0.77 in the same quarter last year, which would indicate a negative year-over-year growth rate of 89.6%. The company is scheduled to report its next quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 24th.

On average, analysts expect that Mosaic will report full-year earnings of $0.53 per share for the current year, with EPS estimates ranging from $0.46 to $0.56. For the next fiscal year, analysts forecast that the business will report earnings of $1.35 per share, with EPS estimates ranging from $0.80 to $1.88. Zacks Investment Research’s EPS averages are a mean average based on a survey of sell-side research firms that follow Mosaic.

Mosaic (NYSE:MOS) last issued its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The basic materials company reported $0.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.22 by ($0.02). Mosaic had a positive return on equity of 4.48% and a negative net margin of 0.36%. The firm had revenue of $2.75 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.67 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.75 earnings per share. Mosaic’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.0% on a year-over-year basis.

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of Mosaic from $26.00 to $23.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of Mosaic from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $20.00 to $18.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Consumer Edge started coverage on shares of Mosaic in a report on Monday, September 23rd. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $22.00 target price on the stock. Cowen dropped their price target on shares of Mosaic from $30.00 to $25.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on Mosaic from $32.00 to $26.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, September 27th. They noted that the move was a valuation call. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. The company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $27.63.

Shares of MOS stock opened at $18.99 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.51, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $19.83 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $21.36. Mosaic has a 12 month low of $17.36 and a 12 month high of $37.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.22 billion, a PE ratio of 8.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.18 and a beta of 1.62.

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 19th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.05 per share. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 4th. Mosaic’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.43%.

In other news, Director William T. Monahan acquired 2,360 shares of Mosaic stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $21.15 per share, with a total value of $49,914.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 39,235 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $829,820.25. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.51% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of MOS. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd bought a new position in Mosaic in the 2nd quarter valued at $103,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Kokusai Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Mosaic by 25.2% in the 2nd quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Kokusai Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 61,332 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,535,000 after buying an additional 12,341 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Mosaic by 10.4% in the 3rd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 676,189 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $13,801,000 after buying an additional 63,523 shares during the last quarter. Centerstone Investors LLC grew its position in Mosaic by 66.5% during the second quarter. Centerstone Investors LLC now owns 479,163 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $11,994,000 after buying an additional 191,429 shares during the period. Finally, ARGA Investment Management LP bought a new position in Mosaic during the third quarter valued at about $1,907,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.22% of the company’s stock.

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 International Distribution. 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.

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