Mosaic (NYSE:MOS) Sets New 1-Year Low - Should You Sell?

The Mosaic Company (NYSE:MOS - Get Free Report)'s share price hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $23.98 and last traded at $23.99, with a volume of 419490 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $24.28.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on MOS. Mizuho upped their target price on shares of Mosaic from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $30.00 target price on shares of Mosaic in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Mosaic from $29.00 to $27.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Barclays cut their price objective on Mosaic from $32.00 to $30.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Finally, Oppenheimer assumed coverage on Mosaic in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. They set a "market perform" rating for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $35.40.

Mosaic Stock Down 1.6 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 1.19 and a quick ratio of 0.49. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $26.43 and a 200 day moving average price of $27.22. The company has a market cap of $7.59 billion, a PE ratio of 21.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.34.

Mosaic (NYSE:MOS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 12th. 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 analysts' expectations of $3.17 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.68 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was down 20.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that The Mosaic Company will post 2.07 EPS for the current year.

Mosaic Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 19th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 5th will be issued a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.52%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 5th. Mosaic's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 74.34%.

Institutional Trading of Mosaic

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MOS. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in shares of Mosaic by 40.0% in the 2nd 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 during the period. ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd bought a new stake in Mosaic during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $46,000. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its position in shares of Mosaic by 180,900.0% in the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,810 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 1,809 shares in the last quarter. Kimelman & Baird LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mosaic in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $49,000. Finally, CVA Family Office LLC grew its stake in Mosaic by 23.2% in the third quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 2,037 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 384 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.54% of the company's stock.

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.