Mosaic (NYSE:MOS) Trading Down 9.4% on Disappointing Earnings

Shares of The Mosaic Company (NYSE:MOS) dropped 9.4% on Tuesday after the company announced weaker than expected quarterly earnings. The stock traded as low as $25.30 and last traded at $25.39. Approximately 3,689,670 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 15% from the average daily volume of 4,337,994 shares. The stock had previously closed at $28.03.

The basic materials company reported $0.34 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.58 by ($0.24). Mosaic had a net margin of 3.24% and a return on equity of 6.00%. The company had revenue of $2.81 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.17 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.68 earnings per share. Mosaic’s revenue was down 20.8% on a year-over-year basis.

Mosaic Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 19th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 5th. Mosaic’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 74.34%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have weighed in on MOS. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $30.00 price objective on shares of Mosaic in a research note on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Mosaic from $29.00 to $27.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Barclays lowered their target price on Mosaic from $32.00 to $30.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Finally, Mizuho lifted their target price on Mosaic from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $33.22.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Mosaic

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MOS. Highlander Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Mosaic by 515.4% during the 1st 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 in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in Mosaic by 40.0% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,229 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 351 shares in the last quarter. ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd purchased a new position in Mosaic during the 2nd quarter valued at about $46,000. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in Mosaic by 180,900.0% during the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,810 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 1,809 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kimelman & Baird LLC purchased a new position in Mosaic during the 2nd quarter valued at about $49,000. 77.54% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Mosaic Stock Up 0.8 %

The company has a current ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The firm has a market cap of $8.39 billion, a PE ratio of 23.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.35. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $26.37 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $27.96.

Mosaic Company Profile

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.