Mosaic (NYSE:MOS) Upgraded by Piper Sandler to Neutral Rating

Piper Sandler upgraded shares of Mosaic (NYSE:MOS) from an underweight rating to a neutral rating in a research report report published on Monday, MarketBeat reports. Piper Sandler currently has $30.00 price objective on the basic materials company’s stock, up from their previous price objective of $26.00.

Several other research firms have also weighed in on MOS. Oppenheimer initiated coverage on Mosaic in a report on Thursday, December 12th. They set a “market perform” rating on the stock. CIBC assumed coverage on Mosaic in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $55.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Mosaic from $29.00 to $27.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $30.00 price objective on shares of Mosaic in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Mizuho lifted their price objective on Mosaic from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $35.09.

Mosaic Stock Performance

Shares of Mosaic stock opened at $26.75 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $8.50 billion, a PE ratio of 23.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.34. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $25.72 and a 200-day simple moving average of $26.73. The company has a quick ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. Mosaic has a 12 month low of $23.56 and a 12 month high of $33.44.

Mosaic (NYSE:MOS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 12th. The basic materials company reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by ($0.24). The firm 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 in the previous year, the business posted $0.68 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Mosaic will post 2.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mosaic Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared 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. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.29%. This is a positive change from Mosaic’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 6th. Mosaic’s payout ratio is currently 77.88%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mosaic

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Mosaic by 2.2% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,351,351 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $228,018,000 after acquiring an additional 178,844 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Mosaic by 34.6% during 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 purchasing an additional 1,628,850 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Mosaic by 15.1% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,311,123 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $95,691,000 after purchasing an additional 435,598 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP boosted its holdings in Mosaic by 40.6% during the third quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 3,279,200 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $87,817,000 after purchasing an additional 947,500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted 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 valued at $86,189,000 after purchasing an additional 986,812 shares in the last quarter. 77.54% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.