Brokerages Set The Mosaic Company (NYSE:MOS) Price Target at $35.40

The Mosaic Company (NYSE:MOS - Get Free Report) has earned an average recommendation of "Hold" from the eleven ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have given a hold recommendation and four have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $35.40.

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Oppenheimer assumed coverage on Mosaic in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. They issued a "market perform" rating for the company. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Mosaic from $29.00 to $27.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and set a $30.00 price objective on shares of Mosaic in a report on Thursday, November 14th. CIBC initiated coverage on Mosaic in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $55.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of Mosaic from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th.

Mosaic Trading Down 0.0 %

Shares of Mosaic stock traded down $0.01 on Wednesday, reaching $24.27. 1,457,947 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,365,538. The company has a market capitalization of $7.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.34. Mosaic has a 52 week low of $23.60 and a 52 week high of $37.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a current ratio of 1.19. The firm's 50-day moving average is $26.28 and its two-hundred day moving average is $27.06.

Mosaic (NYSE:MOS - Get Free Report) last issued its 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 company had revenue of $2.81 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.17 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.68 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was down 20.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Mosaic will post 2.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mosaic Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 20th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 6th will be paid a $0.22 dividend. This is a positive change from Mosaic's previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 6th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.63%. Mosaic's dividend payout ratio is presently 74.34%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Mosaic

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Mosaic by 34.6% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,337,124 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $183,155,000 after acquiring an additional 1,628,850 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Mosaic by 44.2% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,218,410 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $86,189,000 after purchasing an additional 986,812 shares during the period. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. increased its position in shares of Mosaic by 84.7% during the 2nd quarter. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. now owns 2,083,233 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $60,205,000 after purchasing an additional 955,199 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP raised its stake in shares of Mosaic by 40.6% during the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 3,279,200 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $87,817,000 after purchasing an additional 947,500 shares during the period. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Mosaic by 15.1% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,311,123 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $95,691,000 after buying an additional 435,598 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.