The Mosaic Company (NYSE:MOS) Given Consensus Rating of “Hold” by Analysts

Shares of The Mosaic Company (NYSE:MOS) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Hold” by the nineteen ratings firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, eleven have issued a hold recommendation and five have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $28.00.

Several research firms have recently weighed in on MOS. Freedom Capital lowered shares of Mosaic from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 19th. Scotiabank decreased their price target on shares of Mosaic from $35.00 to $33.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce set a $25.00 price objective on Mosaic in a research report on Tuesday. Bank of America cut Mosaic from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $33.00 to $30.00 in a report on Friday, March 20th. Finally, Barclays reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $31.00 price target on shares of Mosaic in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd.

Mosaic Price Performance

Shares of MOS traded down $0.93 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $21.76. The stock had a trading volume of 8,643,457 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,765,293. Mosaic has a 52 week low of $21.17 and a 52 week high of $38.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 0.47. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $25.05 and its 200-day moving average price is $25.89. The company has a market capitalization of $6.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 167.36, a P/E/G ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.79.

Mosaic (NYSE:MOS) last announced its earnings results on Monday, May 11th. The basic materials company reported $0.05 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.20 by ($0.15). The firm had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.93 billion. Mosaic had a net margin of 0.36% and a return on equity of 4.66%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 14.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.49 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Mosaic will post 1.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mosaic Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 2nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 21st will be given a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 21st. Mosaic’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 676.92%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mosaic

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MOS. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Mosaic by 27.8% in the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 1,749 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 380 shares during the period. United Services Automobile Association acquired a new position in Mosaic during the first quarter valued at $201,000. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in Mosaic by 170.5% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 54,176 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,463,000 after acquiring an additional 34,151 shares in the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP boosted its position in Mosaic by 40.7% during the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 26,836 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $725,000 after acquiring an additional 7,760 shares during the period. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its stake in Mosaic by 169.3% during the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 956 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 601 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.54% of the company’s stock.

About Mosaic

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.