Traders Purchase High Volume of Call Options on Mosaic (NYSE:MOS)

The Mosaic Company (NYSE:MOS) was the target of some unusual options trading on Tuesday. Investors acquired 15,614 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 77% compared to the average daily volume of 8,822 call options.

Mosaic Trading Up 4.3 %

NYSE:MOS opened at $28.22 on Wednesday. Mosaic has a one year low of $23.56 and a one year high of $33.44. The company has a market cap of $8.96 billion, a PE ratio of 24.97, a PEG ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.34. 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 50-day moving average of $26.11 and a 200-day moving average of $26.66.

Mosaic (NYSE:MOS) last issued 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.17 billion. Mosaic had a return on equity of 6.00% and a net margin of 3.24%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 20.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.68 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Mosaic will post 2.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mosaic Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 20th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 6th will be given a $0.22 dividend. This is a positive change from Mosaic’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.12%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 6th. Mosaic’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 74.34%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brooklyn Investment Group grew its holdings in shares of Mosaic by 110.8% in the fourth quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 1,117 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 587 shares during the last quarter. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in Mosaic during the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Tobam bought a new stake in Mosaic in the 4th quarter worth $38,000. Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mosaic in the fourth quarter valued at about $41,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in shares of Mosaic by 46.4% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,799 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $52,000 after acquiring an additional 570 shares during the last quarter. 77.54% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MOS has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $30.00 target price on shares of Mosaic in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Mosaic from $40.00 to $30.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 13th. CIBC initiated coverage on Mosaic in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $55.00 target price for the company. Mizuho increased their target price on Mosaic from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Mosaic from $30.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Mosaic presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $33.80.

Mosaic Company Profile

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.