Traders Purchase Large Volume of Call Options on Mosaic (NYSE:MOS)

The Mosaic Company (NYSE:MOS) saw some unusual options trading on Thursday. Stock traders purchased 26,164 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 136% compared to the average daily volume of 11,076 call options.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Mosaic from $35.00 to $28.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. Bank of America reduced their price objective on Mosaic from $39.00 to $33.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Mosaic from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Wolfe Research cut their target price on shares of Mosaic from $37.00 to $36.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. Finally, Barclays restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $31.00 price target on shares of Mosaic in a research report on Tuesday. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $30.94.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Mosaic

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its position in Mosaic by 172.5% in the 2nd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 684 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 433 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Mosaic by 169.3% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 956 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 601 shares during the last quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC increased its position in shares of Mosaic by 650.0% during the second quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 750 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 650 shares in the last quarter. Rexford Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Mosaic in the 2nd quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC raised its holdings in shares of Mosaic by 1,819.0% in the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 806 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 764 shares during the last quarter. 77.54% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Mosaic Price Performance

NYSE:MOS traded down $0.13 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $25.88. 6,738,944 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,091,667. The company has a market capitalization of $8.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.31, a P/E/G ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 0.47. The business has a 50 day moving average of $27.36 and a 200 day moving average of $28.61. Mosaic has a 1-year low of $22.36 and a 1-year high of $38.23.

Mosaic (NYSE:MOS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 24th. The basic materials company reported $0.22 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by ($0.26). The business had revenue of $2.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.02 billion. Mosaic had a return on equity of 5.80% and a net margin of 4.49%.Mosaic’s quarterly revenue was up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.45 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Mosaic will post 2.04 EPS for the current year.

Mosaic Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 19th. Investors of record on Monday, March 9th will be paid a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 9th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.4%. Mosaic’s payout ratio is currently 52.07%.

About Mosaic

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.