Mosaic Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NYSE:MOS)

The Mosaic Company (NYSE:MOS) saw some unusual options trading activity on Monday. Stock traders purchased 16,971 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 141% compared to the typical volume of 7,049 call options.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mosaic

In other news, SVP Walter F. Precourt III sold 39,748 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 136,682 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,821,628.72. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Mosaic news, SVP Walter F. Precourt III sold 39,748 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.96, for a total value 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. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Kelvin R. Westbrook sold 12,666 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.32, for a total value of $346,035.12. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 34,359 shares in the company, valued at $938,687.88. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.86% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mosaic

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Highlander Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Mosaic by 515.4% in the first quarter. Highlander Capital Management LLC now owns 800 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 670 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in Mosaic by 40.0% in the 2nd 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 during the period. ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd purchased a new position in Mosaic during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $46,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC acquired a new stake in Mosaic during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $49,000. Finally, Fidelis Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mosaic in the 1st quarter valued at $50,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.54% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Mosaic from $33.00 to $30.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Barclays lowered their target price on Mosaic from $32.00 to $30.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 11th. Mizuho cut their price target on Mosaic from $31.00 to $28.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Mosaic from $29.00 to $27.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $30.00 price objective on shares of Mosaic in a research report on Monday, August 12th. 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $33.11.

Mosaic Trading Down 0.9 %

Mosaic stock opened at $28.08 on Wednesday. Mosaic has a one year low of $24.11 and a one year high of $38.30. The stock has a market cap of $8.95 billion, a PE ratio of 37.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 1.16. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $26.48 and a two-hundred day moving average of $28.07.

Mosaic (NYSE:MOS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The basic materials company reported $0.54 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.66 by ($0.12). Mosaic had a return on equity of 6.92% and a net margin of 2.01%. The company had revenue of $2.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.90 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.04 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 17.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Mosaic will post 2.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mosaic Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 19th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 5th were issued a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, September 5th. Mosaic’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 113.51%.

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.