Mosaic (NYSE:MOS) Shares Gap Up – What’s Next?

The Mosaic Company (NYSE:MOS) shares gapped up before the market opened on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $26.89, but opened at $28.39. Mosaic shares last traded at $28.82, with a volume of 931,150 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on MOS. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $30.00 target price on shares of Mosaic in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Mosaic from $29.00 to $27.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. UBS Group cut their target price on Mosaic from $33.00 to $30.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Barclays decreased their price target on Mosaic from $32.00 to $30.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Finally, Mizuho cut their price objective on Mosaic from $31.00 to $28.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Mosaic has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $33.11.

Mosaic Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $8.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.95, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.35. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $26.48 and a two-hundred day moving average of $28.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 1.16.

Mosaic (NYSE:MOS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The basic materials company reported $0.54 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.66 by ($0.12). The business had revenue of $2.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.90 billion. Mosaic had a return on equity of 6.92% and a net margin of 2.01%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 17.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.04 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that The Mosaic Company will post 2.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mosaic Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 19th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 5th were paid a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.99%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 5th. Mosaic’s payout ratio is currently 113.51%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Walter F. Precourt III sold 39,748 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.96, for a total transaction of $1,111,354.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 136,682 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,821,628.72. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, SVP Walter F. Precourt III sold 39,748 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.96, for a total value of $1,111,354.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 136,682 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,821,628.72. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Kelvin R. Westbrook sold 12,666 shares of Mosaic stock in a transaction on Monday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.32, for a total transaction of $346,035.12. Following the sale, the director now owns 34,359 shares in the company, valued at $938,687.88. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.86% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in Mosaic by 40.0% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,229 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 351 shares in the last quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. boosted its stake in Mosaic by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 23,345 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $625,000 after buying an additional 354 shares in the last quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. grew its position in Mosaic by 5.0% in the second quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 7,958 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $230,000 after acquiring an additional 382 shares during the period. CVA Family Office LLC raised its stake in Mosaic by 23.2% during the third quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 2,037 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $55,000 after acquiring an additional 384 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CX Institutional lifted its holdings in shares of Mosaic by 1.5% during the second quarter. CX Institutional now owns 28,480 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $823,000 after acquiring an additional 418 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.54% of the company’s stock.

Mosaic Company Profile

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 Mosaic Fertilizantes. 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, as well as produces a double sulfate of potash magnesia product under K-Mag brand name.