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

The Mosaic Company (NYSE:MOS)’s stock price gapped up prior to trading on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $26.89, but opened at $28.39. Mosaic shares last traded at $28.82, with a volume of 931,150 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on MOS. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Mosaic from $33.00 to $30.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Barclays decreased their price target on Mosaic from $32.00 to $30.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Mosaic from $29.00 to $27.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Mizuho decreased their target price on shares of Mosaic from $31.00 to $28.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $30.00 target price on shares of Mosaic in a research note on Monday, August 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $33.11.

Mosaic Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $26.48 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $28.07. The company has a market cap of $8.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.35.

Mosaic (NYSE:MOS) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The basic materials company reported $0.54 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.66 by ($0.12). The business had revenue of $2.82 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.90 billion. Mosaic had a return on equity of 6.92% and a net margin of 2.01%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 17.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.04 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that The Mosaic Company will post 2.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Mosaic Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 19th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 5th were issued a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, September 5th. Mosaic’s payout ratio is 113.51%.

Insider Transactions at Mosaic

In related news, Director Kelvin R. Westbrook sold 12,666 shares of Mosaic stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.32, for a total value of $346,035.12. Following the transaction, the director now owns 34,359 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $938,687.88. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Mosaic news, Director Kelvin R. Westbrook sold 12,666 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.32, for a total transaction of $346,035.12. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 34,359 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $938,687.88. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Walter F. Precourt III sold 39,748 shares of Mosaic stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.96, for a total transaction of $1,111,354.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 136,682 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,821,628.72. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.86% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Mosaic

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MOS. Highlander Capital Management LLC raised its position in Mosaic by 515.4% during the first quarter. Highlander Capital Management LLC now owns 800 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 670 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in shares of Mosaic by 40.0% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,229 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 351 shares in the last quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mosaic in the first quarter worth approximately $50,000. ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Mosaic during the second quarter worth approximately $46,000. Finally, Kimelman & Baird LLC purchased a new position in Mosaic during the second quarter valued at approximately $49,000. 77.54% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Mosaic

The Mosaic Company, through its subsidiaries, produces and markets concentrated phosphate and potash crop nutrients in North America and internationally. The company operates through three segments: Phosphates, Potash, and Mosaic Fertilizantes. It owns and operates mines, which produce concentrated phosphate crop nutrients, such as diammonium phosphate, monoammonium phosphate, and ammoniated phosphate products; and phosphate-based animal feed ingredients primarily under the Biofos and Nexfos brand names, as well as produces a double sulfate of potash magnesia product under K-Mag brand name.