Mosaic (NYSE:MOS) Upgraded to “Overweight” at Barclays

Barclays upgraded shares of Mosaic (NYSE:MOS) from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating in a research note released on Wednesday morning, MarketBeat reports. The firm currently has $33.00 target price on the basic materials company’s stock, up from their prior target price of $27.00.

Several other research analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Mosaic from $29.00 to $26.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Oppenheimer assumed coverage on Mosaic in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. They issued a “market perform” rating for the company. Mizuho decreased their price objective on Mosaic from $29.00 to $28.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Mosaic from $40.00 to $30.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Mosaic from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Mosaic currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $32.64.

Mosaic Trading Up 2.8 %

Shares of MOS opened at $27.95 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $26.41 and its 200-day moving average price is $26.16. Mosaic has a twelve month low of $22.48 and a twelve month high of $33.44. The stock has a market cap of $8.86 billion, a PE ratio of 24.74, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.34. 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 Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 20th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 6th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.15%. This is a positive change from Mosaic’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. Mosaic’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 160.00%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mosaic

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Intellectus Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Mosaic by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Intellectus Partners LLC now owns 12,350 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $304,000 after buying an additional 400 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System increased its stake in shares of Mosaic by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 92,550 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,275,000 after buying an additional 471 shares during the period. Probity Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Mosaic by 6.2% during the 4th quarter. Probity Advisors Inc. now owns 8,701 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $214,000 after purchasing an additional 508 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd boosted its position in Mosaic by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 32,516 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $799,000 after purchasing an additional 570 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group grew its stake in Mosaic by 110.8% in the fourth quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 1,117 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 587 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.54% of the company’s stock.

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.