Mosaic (NYSE:MOS) Reaches New 12-Month Low – Time to Sell?

The Mosaic Company (NYSE:MOS)’s share price reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Monday. The company traded as low as $18.36 and last traded at $18.3260, with a volume of 514,408 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $18.82.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Mizuho lowered their price objective on Mosaic from $25.00 to $22.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 13th. Barclays dropped their target price on Mosaic from $26.00 to $22.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Mosaic from a “sell” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Sunday, July 12th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Mosaic in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, lowered Mosaic from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $27.00 to $25.00 in a research report on Monday, October 5th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Mosaic presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $26.67.

Mosaic Trading Down 3.7%

The stock has a market capitalization of $5.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -9.00, a PEG ratio of 5.34 and a beta of 0.91. The business has a 50-day moving average of $22.99 and a 200-day moving average of $22.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 1.34.

Mosaic (NYSE:MOS) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The basic materials company reported $0.13 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analysts’ expectations of $3.10 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.51 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that The Mosaic Company will post 0.34 EPS for the current year.

Mosaic Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 24th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 10th were paid a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 10th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.9%. Mosaic’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -43.56%.

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 value of $508,760.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 116,198 shares in the company, valued at $2,570,299.76. This represents a 16.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Mosaic

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Mosaic by 72.9% during the 1st quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 1,245 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 525 shares during the period. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in Mosaic in the second quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC purchased a new position in Mosaic in the second quarter valued at approximately $46,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC raised its holdings in Mosaic by 1,575.9% in the third quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 3,620 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $78,000 after buying an additional 3,404 shares during the period. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position in Mosaic by 57.0% during the third quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 3,770 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $82,000 after buying an additional 1,369 shares in the last quarter. 77.54% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Mosaic Company Profile

The Mosaic Company is a global producer and marketer of concentrated phosphate and potash crop nutrients. Its products are used by farmers to support plant growth, improve yields and replenish essential nutrients in agricultural soils. Mosaic also produces phosphate-based animal feed ingredients and other crop nutrition products.

Mosaic operates an integrated business that includes mining, processing, manufacturing and distribution. Its phosphate operations are primarily located in the United States, while its potash operations include mining assets in Canada and the United States.