Mosaic (NYSE:MOS) Shares Up 13.4% – Time to Buy?

The Mosaic Company (NYSE:MOS)’s stock price shot up 13.4% on Wednesday. The stock traded as high as $20.88 and last traded at $20.8850. Approximately 10,270,574 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 15% from the average session volume of 8,921,404 shares. The stock had previously closed at $18.42.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on MOS. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Mosaic from $26.00 to $22.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 16th. Zacks Research raised shares of Mosaic from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Mizuho set a $20.00 target price on Mosaic in a report on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Mosaic in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Mosaic from $23.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 27th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $25.68.

Mosaic Price Performance

The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $21.75 and a 200 day simple moving average of $23.80. The stock has a market cap of $7.09 billion, a P/E ratio of -6.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.83 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a current ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46.

Mosaic (NYSE:MOS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 3rd. The basic materials company reported ($0.19) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.01) by ($0.18). The firm had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.05 billion. Mosaic had a negative net margin of 9.43% and a positive return on equity of 0.58%. The business’s revenue was down 10.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.29 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that The Mosaic Company will post 0.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Mosaic Dividend Announcement

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Walter Precourt, III sold 23,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 116,198 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,570,299.76. This represents a 16.52% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Mosaic

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of MOS. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its holdings in Mosaic by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 87,609 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,856,000 after purchasing an additional 489 shares in the last quarter. Fortress Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Mosaic during the second quarter worth about $269,000. Kestra Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in Mosaic by 4.6% during the third quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 12,496 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $271,000 after buying an additional 547 shares during the last quarter. Tema ETFs LLC boosted its holdings in Mosaic by 10.0% in the 2nd quarter. Tema ETFs LLC now owns 6,355 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $135,000 after purchasing an additional 580 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Plan A Wealth LLC raised its position in Mosaic by 4.0% in the third quarter. Plan A Wealth LLC now owns 16,105 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $349,000 after purchasing an additional 620 shares during the period. 77.54% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Mosaic

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.