Mosaic (NYSE:MOS) Trading Down 9.4% Following Weak Earnings

Shares of The Mosaic Company (NYSE:MOS) were down 9.4% during mid-day trading on Tuesday following a dissappointing earnings announcement. The company traded as low as $25.30 and last traded at $25.39. Approximately 3,689,670 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 15% from the average daily volume of 4,337,994 shares. The stock had previously closed at $28.03.

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 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%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 20.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.68 earnings per share.

Mosaic Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 19th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 5th will be given a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 5th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.19%. Mosaic’s dividend payout ratio is presently 74.34%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on MOS shares. Wells Fargo & Company reduced 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. Mizuho boosted their price target on Mosaic from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $30.00 price target on shares of Mosaic in a report on Thursday. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Mosaic from $32.00 to $30.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Mosaic has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $33.22.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Mosaic

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in Mosaic by 40.0% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,229 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 351 shares during the last quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. boosted its position in Mosaic by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 23,345 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $625,000 after buying an additional 354 shares during the period. Moors & Cabot Inc. grew its holdings in Mosaic by 5.0% during the 2nd quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 7,958 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $230,000 after acquiring an additional 382 shares during the last quarter. CVA Family Office LLC increased its position in Mosaic by 23.2% in the 3rd quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 2,037 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $55,000 after acquiring an additional 384 shares during the period. Finally, CX Institutional raised its stake in shares of Mosaic by 1.5% during the second quarter. CX Institutional now owns 28,480 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $823,000 after acquiring an additional 418 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.54% of the company’s stock.

Mosaic Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The stock has a market cap of $8.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.29, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.35. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $26.37 and its 200-day moving average price is $27.96.

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.