Mosaic (NYSE:MOS) Rating Lowered to “Sector Perform” at RBC Dominion Securities

Mosaic (NYSE:MOS) was downgraded by equities research analysts at RBC Dominion Securities from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating in a report released on Monday, BayStreet reports. They presently have a $25.00 price target on the basic materials company’s stock, down from their previous price target of $27.00. RBC Dominion Securities’ price objective points to a potential upside of 16.82% from the company’s previous close.

MOS has been the topic of several other research reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Mosaic in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Mosaic from $28.00 to $26.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Rothschild & Co Redburn began coverage on Mosaic in a research report on Friday, June 26th. They set a “buy” rating and a $30.00 price target on the stock. HSBC dropped their price objective on shares of Mosaic from $26.00 to $23.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Mosaic from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $26.95.

Mosaic Stock Performance

NYSE MOS traded up $0.33 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $21.40. 5,131,843 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,724,665. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.80 billion, a P/E ratio of -10.60, a P/E/G ratio of 5.78 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. Mosaic has a 1 year low of $19.80 and a 1 year high of $36.00. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $23.64 and its 200-day simple moving average is $23.36.

Mosaic (NYSE:MOS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The basic materials company reported $0.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.12 by $0.01. Mosaic had a negative net margin of 5.21% and a positive return on equity of 3.77%. The firm had revenue of $2.82 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.10 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.51 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Mosaic will post 0.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Walter Precourt, III sold 23,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.12, for a total value of $508,760.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 116,198 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,570,299.76. This trade represents a 16.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Mosaic

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. CX Institutional lifted its stake in Mosaic by 35.9% in the 3rd quarter. CX Institutional now owns 6,097 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $132,000 after purchasing an additional 1,612 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in Mosaic by 57.0% during the third quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 3,770 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $82,000 after buying an additional 1,369 shares during the period. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. grew its position in Mosaic by 11.9% during the second quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 79,773 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,690,000 after buying an additional 8,488 shares in the last quarter. Core Capital Management & Research inc. purchased a new position in Mosaic during the second quarter worth about $2,741,000. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its stake in Mosaic by 56.3% in the 2nd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 34,042 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $721,000 after acquiring an additional 12,259 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 77.54% of the company’s stock.

About Mosaic

The Mosaic Company is a global producer and marketer of concentrated phosphate and potash crop nutrients. Its products are used by farmers to support plant growth, improve yields and replenish essential nutrients in agricultural soils. Mosaic also produces phosphate-based animal feed ingredients and other crop nutrition products.

Mosaic operates an integrated business that includes mining, processing, manufacturing and distribution. Its phosphate operations are primarily located in the United States, while its potash operations include mining assets in Canada and the United States.