Weiss Asset Management LP Lowers Stake in The Mosaic Company $MOS

Weiss Asset Management LP cut its position in shares of The Mosaic Company (NYSE:MOS) by 94.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 38,535 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 615,873 shares during the quarter. Weiss Asset Management LP’s holdings in Mosaic were worth $983,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Mosaic by 632.6% in the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 8,447,324 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $291,348,000 after purchasing an additional 7,294,205 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Mosaic during the 4th quarter worth approximately $103,129,000. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in Mosaic by 28.9% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 11,840,398 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $285,235,000 after buying an additional 2,653,969 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its holdings in Mosaic by 252.2% in the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 3,240,652 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $82,637,000 after buying an additional 2,320,605 shares during the period. Finally, Merewether Investment Management LP purchased a new position in Mosaic in the second quarter valued at approximately $72,380,000. 77.54% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on MOS shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Mosaic from a “sell” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Sunday, July 12th. Rothschild & Co Redburn began coverage on shares of Mosaic in a research note on Friday, June 26th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $30.00 target price on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on shares of Mosaic from $31.00 to $28.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Mosaic from $27.00 to $23.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane decreased their price target on shares of Mosaic from $29.00 to $27.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $27.11.

Mosaic Stock Performance

Mosaic stock opened at $22.37 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.10 billion, a PE ratio of 172.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.82. The Mosaic Company has a one year low of $19.80 and a one year high of $37.08. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $22.13 and its 200 day moving average price is $24.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 1.25.

Mosaic (NYSE:MOS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 11th. The basic materials company reported $0.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.20 by ($0.15). The firm had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.93 billion. Mosaic had a net margin of 0.36% and a return on equity of 4.66%. The firm’s revenue was up 14.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.49 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that The Mosaic Company will post 0.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mosaic Company Profile

Mosaic Co is one of the world’s leading producers and marketers of concentrated phosphate and potash crop nutrients. The company’s primary business activities center on the extraction, processing and distribution of phosphate rock, phosphate-based fertilizers and potash products. These core nutrients are essential components in modern agriculture, supporting crop yields and soil health across a range of farming applications.

In its phosphate segment, Mosaic operates mining and production facilities that convert phosphate rock into concentrated phosphates, finished phosphate fertilizers and feed phosphates for animal nutrition.