The Mosaic Company (NYSE:MOS) Short Interest Update

The Mosaic Company (NYSE:MOS) was the recipient of a significant drop in short interest during the month of November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 6,810,000 shares, a drop of 16.8% from the October 31st total of 8,190,000 shares. Approximately 2.2% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 4,150,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.6 days.

Mosaic Trading Up 2.8 %

NYSE:MOS opened at $26.46 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.42, a PEG ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 1.35. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $26.44 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $27.62. Mosaic has a 12 month low of $24.11 and a 12 month high of $38.30.

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). Mosaic had a net margin of 3.24% and a return on equity of 6.00%. The business had revenue of $2.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.17 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.68 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 20.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Mosaic will post 2.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mosaic Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 19th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 5th will be given a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.17%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 5th. Mosaic’s dividend payout ratio is 74.34%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mosaic

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in Mosaic by 40.0% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,229 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 351 shares during the last quarter. ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd bought a new position in shares of Mosaic in the 2nd quarter worth about $46,000. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Mosaic by 180,900.0% in the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,810 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 1,809 shares in the last quarter. Kimelman & Baird LLC bought a new position in shares of Mosaic in the 2nd quarter worth about $49,000. Finally, CVA Family Office LLC increased its stake in shares of Mosaic by 23.2% in the 3rd quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 2,037 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $55,000 after acquiring an additional 384 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.54% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MOS has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Mosaic from $29.00 to $27.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of Mosaic from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Mosaic from $32.00 to $30.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 11th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $30.00 price target on shares of Mosaic in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $33.22.

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.