Mosaic (NYSE:MOS) Stock Price Breaks Above 50 Day Moving Average – Here’s Why

by · The Cerbat Gem

Shares of The Mosaic Company (NYSE:MOS – Get Free Report) crossed above its fifty day moving average during trading on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $21.75 and traded as high as $22.50. Mosaic shares last traded at $22.3250, with a volume of 19,121,421 shares traded.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada downgraded Mosaic from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $27.00 to $25.00 in a research report on Monday, October 5th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Mosaic in a report on Wednesday. Barclays lowered their price target on Mosaic from $26.00 to $22.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 16th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce cut their price objective on Mosaic from $25.00 to $22.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 23rd. Finally, lowered shares of Mosaic from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $27.00 to $25.00 in a report on Monday, October 5th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Mosaic presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $25.68.

Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on MOS

Mosaic Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 1.34. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $21.72 and its two-hundred day moving average is $23.77. The stock has a market cap of $7.09 billion, a PE ratio of -6.30, a PEG ratio of 6.01 and a beta of 0.88.

Mosaic (NYSE:MOS – Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, November 3rd. The basic materials company reported ($0.19) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.01) by ($0.18). The firm had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.05 billion. Mosaic had a negative net margin of 5.21% and a positive return on equity of 3.77%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 10.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.29 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that The Mosaic Company will post 0.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Mosaic Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 4th will be paid a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 4th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.9%. Mosaic’s payout ratio is presently -24.86%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mosaic

In related news, SVP Walter Precourt, III sold 23,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.12, for a total value of $508,760.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 116,198 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,570,299.76. The trade was a 16.52% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mosaic

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in Mosaic in the 2nd quarter valued at about $524,484,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Mosaic by 6.2% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 14,240,050 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $363,110,000 after purchasing an additional 832,914 shares in the last quarter. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Mosaic during the second quarter worth about $163,662,000. Nykredit A S acquired a new stake in shares of Mosaic during the second quarter worth about $108,329,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in shares of Mosaic by 0.6% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 4,136,118 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $105,471,000 after purchasing an additional 25,109 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.54% of the company’s stock.

Mosaic Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

The Mosaic Company is a global producer and marketer of concentrated phosphate and potash crop nutrients. Its products help farmers supply crops with essential nutrients, including phosphorus and potassium, and are sold under brands such as MicroEssentials, Aspire and K-Mag.

Mosaic operates an integrated fertilizer business that includes phosphate rock mining, processing and manufacturing, as well as potash mining and production. The company also produces animal feed ingredients and other products derived from phosphate operations.

See Also