Wells Fargo & Company Cuts Mosaic (NYSE:MOS) Price Target to $27.00

Mosaic (NYSE:MOS) had its price objective reduced by Wells Fargo & Company from $29.00 to $27.00 in a research note published on Tuesday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the basic materials company’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also commented on the stock. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Mosaic from $39.00 to $32.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Piper Sandler cut their price target on shares of Mosaic from $29.00 to $28.00 and set an underweight rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, June 11th. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Mosaic from $33.00 to $30.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a sector perform rating and set a $30.00 price target on shares of Mosaic in a research note on Monday, August 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $34.73.

Mosaic Price Performance

Mosaic stock opened at $26.52 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $8.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $27.38 and a 200-day simple moving average of $29.14. Mosaic has a 12-month low of $24.11 and a 12-month high of $38.30. The company has a current ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27.

Mosaic (NYSE:MOS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The basic materials company reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.66 by ($0.12). Mosaic had a return on equity of 6.92% and a net margin of 2.01%. The firm had revenue of $2.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.90 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.04 earnings per share. Mosaic’s revenue for the quarter was down 17.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Mosaic will post 2.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mosaic Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 19th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 5th were paid a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 5th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.17%. Mosaic’s dividend payout ratio is presently 35.74%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Kelvin R. Westbrook sold 12,666 shares of Mosaic stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.32, for a total value of $346,035.12. Following the sale, the director now owns 34,359 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $938,687.88. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Kelvin R. Westbrook sold 12,666 shares of Mosaic stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.32, for a total value of $346,035.12. Following the sale, the director now owns 34,359 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $938,687.88. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Walter F. Precourt III sold 39,748 shares of Mosaic stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.96, for a total transaction of $1,111,354.08. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 136,682 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,821,628.72. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.86% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Mosaic

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in MOS. Highlander Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Mosaic by 515.4% during the first quarter. Highlander Capital Management LLC now owns 800 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 670 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in Mosaic by 40.0% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,229 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 351 shares in the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. purchased a new stake in Mosaic during the first quarter worth about $40,000. ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd purchased a new stake in Mosaic during the second quarter worth about $46,000. Finally, Kimelman & Baird LLC purchased a new stake in Mosaic during the second quarter worth about $49,000. 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.