Freedom Broker Upgrades Mosaic (NYSE:MOS) to “Hold”

Mosaic (NYSE:MOS) was upgraded by investment analysts at Freedom Broker from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report released on Monday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a $17.00 price target on the basic materials company’s stock. Freedom Broker‘s target price points to a potential downside of 10.51% from the company’s current price.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Mosaic in a report on Friday, August 7th. UBS Group lowered their price target on Mosaic from $23.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 27th. Mizuho dropped their price objective on Mosaic from $25.00 to $22.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 13th. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered 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 research note on Monday, October 5th. Finally, KeyCorp started coverage on Mosaic in a research report on Thursday, September 10th. They issued a “sector weight” rating on the stock. Six equities 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $25.79.

Mosaic Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MOS traded up $0.61 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $19.00. 8,452,249 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,925,334. 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 company has a market cap of $6.04 billion, a PE ratio of -9.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.81 and a beta of 0.91. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $22.06 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $23.93. Mosaic has a 1-year low of $16.99 and a 1-year high of $32.25.

Mosaic (NYSE:MOS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The basic materials company reported $0.13 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $2.82 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.10 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.51 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Mosaic will post 0.31 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mosaic

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Mosaic

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of MOS. Fortress Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Mosaic during the 2nd quarter worth $269,000. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in Mosaic in the second quarter valued at about $32,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC bought a new position in Mosaic in the second quarter valued at about $46,000. Root Financial Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Mosaic by 291.2% during the first quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 3,407 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $87,000 after purchasing an additional 2,536 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Essential Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Mosaic by 81.0% during the first quarter. Essential Partners LLC now owns 3,569 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $91,000 after purchasing an additional 1,597 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.54% of the company’s stock.

Mosaic Company Profile

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.