Investors Buy Large Volume of Call Options on Mosaic (NYSE:MOS)

The Mosaic Company (NYSE:MOS - Get Free Report) saw some unusual options trading activity on Monday. Investors purchased 15,903 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 93% compared to the average volume of 8,235 call options.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently issued reports on MOS. Oppenheimer began coverage on Mosaic in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. They issued a "market perform" rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Mosaic from $29.00 to $27.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. CIBC initiated coverage on shares of Mosaic in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $55.00 price target for the company. Mizuho upped their target price on Mosaic from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $30.00 price target on shares of Mosaic in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $35.09.

Mosaic Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MOS traded up $1.92 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $26.75. 6,319,619 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,261,807. Mosaic has a twelve month low of $23.56 and a twelve month high of $33.44. 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 firm has a market cap of $8.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.67, a PEG ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.34. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $25.76 and its 200-day moving average price is $26.75.

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

Mosaic Increases Dividend

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Quarry LP increased its position in shares of Mosaic by 131.4% during the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 38,894 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,124,000 after purchasing an additional 22,084 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Mosaic by 44.2% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,218,410 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $86,189,000 after acquiring an additional 986,812 shares during the period. Swedbank AB raised its position in Mosaic by 2.3% in the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,269,494 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $33,997,000 after acquiring an additional 28,816 shares in the last quarter. Herr Investment Group LLC raised its position in Mosaic by 1,318.7% in the second quarter. Herr Investment Group LLC now owns 332,209 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $9,601,000 after acquiring an additional 308,792 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund acquired a new stake in Mosaic in the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,251,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.54% of the company's stock.

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.