Brokerages Set The Mosaic Company (NYSE:MOS) Price Target at $31.73

The Mosaic Company (NYSE:MOS) has received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eighteen research firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $31.7333.

MOS has been the subject of several analyst reports. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Mosaic from $40.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. HSBC decreased their price target on Mosaic from $35.00 to $26.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 24th. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on Mosaic in a research note on Tuesday, November 11th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $28.00 price objective on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on Mosaic from $37.00 to $33.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 12th. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Mosaic from $35.00 to $31.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, December 9th.

Mosaic Price Performance

NYSE MOS opened at $25.96 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $24.72 and its 200-day moving average is $30.53. The company has a quick ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The company has a market capitalization of $8.24 billion, a PE ratio of 6.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 0.94. Mosaic has a 12-month low of $22.36 and a 12-month high of $38.23.

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

Mosaic Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 9th will be issued a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 9th. Mosaic’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.80%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mosaic

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Mosaic by 0.4% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 38,661,647 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,340,786,000 after buying an additional 160,953 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in Mosaic by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 13,056,284 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $476,293,000 after acquiring an additional 251,496 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Mosaic by 11.4% during the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 12,576,151 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $436,140,000 after purchasing an additional 1,285,883 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in Mosaic by 3.7% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 9,186,429 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $318,585,000 after purchasing an additional 331,739 shares during the period. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.54% of the company’s stock.

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.