Mosaic (NYSE:MOS) Shares Gap Down Following Analyst Downgrade

The Mosaic Company (NYSE:MOS)’s stock price gapped down prior to trading on Friday after Oppenheimer downgraded the stock from an outperform rating to a market perform rating. The stock had previously closed at $27.58, but opened at $26.48. Mosaic shares last traded at $26.3150, with a volume of 5,446,179 shares.

Several other brokerages also recently commented on MOS. Mizuho lowered their price objective on shares of Mosaic from $31.00 to $28.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. HSBC cut their price target on shares of Mosaic from $35.00 to $26.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 24th. Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on Mosaic in a research report on Tuesday, November 11th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $28.00 price objective on the stock. CIBC lowered their price objective on Mosaic from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada set a $27.00 price target on Mosaic in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $31.07.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Mosaic

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Mosaic by 632.6% during the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 8,447,324 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $291,348,000 after purchasing an additional 7,294,205 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Mosaic during the 2nd quarter worth about $158,085,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in Mosaic by 102.3% during the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 7,701,610 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $267,092,000 after purchasing an additional 3,894,947 shares during the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp increased its stake in Mosaic by 13,275.9% in the second quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 2,022,840 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $73,793,000 after purchasing an additional 2,007,717 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Merewether Investment Management LP acquired a new stake in Mosaic during the second quarter worth approximately $72,380,000. 77.54% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Mosaic Stock Down 4.4%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a current ratio of 1.14. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $24.79 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $30.21. The firm has a market cap of $8.37 billion, a PE ratio of 6.83, a P/E/G ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 0.94.

Mosaic (NYSE:MOS) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The basic materials company reported $1.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.03 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $3.45 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.87 billion. Mosaic had a net margin of 10.33% and a return on equity of 6.46%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 22.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.34 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that The Mosaic Company will post 2.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mosaic Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 9th will be given 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 is presently 22.80%.

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.