Mosaic (NYSE:MOS) Stock Price Up 5% - Here's What Happened

The Mosaic Company (NYSE:MOS - Get Free Report)'s stock price rose 5% during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $26.14 and last traded at $26.06. Approximately 834,632 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 81% from the average daily volume of 4,479,657 shares. The stock had previously closed at $24.83.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on MOS shares. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Mosaic from $40.00 to $30.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Barclays cut their target price on shares of 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 target price on shares of Mosaic from $29.00 to $27.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Oppenheimer began coverage on shares of Mosaic in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. They issued a "market perform" rating for the company. Finally, Piper Sandler upgraded Mosaic from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $26.00 to $30.00 in a report on Monday. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Mosaic presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $35.09.

Mosaic Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $8.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.67, a P/E/G ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.34. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $25.76 and a 200 day moving average of $26.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a current ratio of 1.19.

Mosaic (NYSE:MOS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The basic materials company reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.58 by ($0.24). Mosaic had a return on equity of 6.00% and a net margin of 3.24%. The business had revenue of $2.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.17 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.68 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 20.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that The Mosaic Company will post 2.07 EPS for the current year.

Mosaic Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 20th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 6th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.29%. This is a boost from Mosaic's previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. Mosaic's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 77.88%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Mosaic

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Czech National Bank lifted its stake in Mosaic by 6.1% in the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 68,872 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,693,000 after acquiring an additional 3,963 shares in the last quarter. Range Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Mosaic in the 4th quarter worth about $1,148,000. CWA Asset Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in Mosaic in the 4th quarter worth about $765,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in Mosaic by 20.5% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 11,444 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $281,000 after purchasing an additional 1,946 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Confluence Investment Management LLC increased its position in Mosaic by 6.3% in the 4th quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC now owns 14,527 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $357,000 after purchasing an additional 863 shares during the last quarter. 77.54% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.