Mosaic (NYSE:MOS) Trading Down 4.6% – Time to Sell?

The Mosaic Company (NYSE:MOS)’s stock price fell 4.6% on Monday . The company traded as low as $27.79 and last traded at $27.95. 3,733,370 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 53% from the average session volume of 8,007,615 shares. The stock had previously closed at $29.31.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MOS has been the topic of several analyst reports. Wolfe Research lowered their target price on shares of Mosaic from $37.00 to $36.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Mosaic from $35.00 to $28.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Oppenheimer set a $35.00 target price on shares of Mosaic in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Mosaic from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut Mosaic from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $24.00 price target for the company. in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $30.94.

Mosaic Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $8.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.43, a P/E/G ratio of 1.86 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 stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $27.88 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $28.35.

Mosaic (NYSE:MOS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 24th. The basic materials company reported $0.22 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.48 by ($0.26). The company had revenue of $2.97 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.02 billion. Mosaic had a net margin of 4.49% and a return on equity of 5.80%. Mosaic’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.45 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that The Mosaic Company will post 2.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Mosaic Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 2nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 21st will be given a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 21st. Mosaic’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 52.07%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mosaic

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in MOS. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its position in Mosaic by 169.3% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 956 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 601 shares during the period. Rothschild Investment LLC grew its position in shares of Mosaic by 650.0% during the 2nd quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 750 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 650 shares during the period. Rexford Capital Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Mosaic during the second quarter worth approximately $28,000. True Wealth Design LLC lifted its holdings in Mosaic by 1,819.0% in the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 806 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 764 shares during the period. Finally, Mather Group LLC. acquired a new position in Mosaic in the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. 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.