Mosaic Company (The) (NYSE: MOS) and CF Industries Holdings (NYSE:CF) are both mid-cap basic materials companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, dividends, valuation, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, risk and profitabiliy.
Dividends
Mosaic Company (The) pays an annual dividend of $0.60 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.7%. CF Industries Holdings pays an annual dividend of $1.20 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.7%. Mosaic Company (The) pays out 142.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. CF Industries Holdings pays out -75.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Mosaic Company (The) has raised its dividend for 2 consecutive years and CF Industries Holdings has raised its dividend for 4 consecutive years. CF Industries Holdings is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.
Analyst Recommendations
This is a breakdown of current recommendations for Mosaic Company (The) and CF Industries Holdings, as reported by MarketBeat.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Mosaic Company (The) | 5 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 1.69 |
| CF Industries Holdings | 2 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2.17 |
Mosaic Company (The) currently has a consensus price target of $24.27, suggesting a potential upside of 7.50%. CF Industries Holdings has a consensus price target of $30.00, suggesting a potential downside of 6.86%. Given Mosaic Company (The)’s higher possible upside, research analysts clearly believe Mosaic Company (The) is more favorable than CF Industries Holdings.
Insider and Institutional Ownership
81.9% of Mosaic Company (The) shares are held by institutional investors. 0.4% of Mosaic Company (The) shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 1.0% of CF Industries Holdings shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.
Volatility & Risk
Mosaic Company (The) has a beta of 1.24, indicating that its share price is 24% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, CF Industries Holdings has a beta of 1.17, indicating that its share price is 17% more volatile than the S&P 500.
Earnings & Valuation
This table compares Mosaic Company (The) and CF Industries Holdings’ revenue, earnings per share and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | EBITDA | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Mosaic Company (The) | $7.15 billion | 1.11 | $1.07 billion | $0.42 | 53.76 |
| CF Industries Holdings | $3.71 billion | 2.02 | $978.00 million | ($1.59) | -20.26 |
Mosaic Company (The) has higher revenue and earnings than CF Industries Holdings. CF Industries Holdings is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Mosaic Company (The), indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Profitability
This table compares Mosaic Company (The) and CF Industries Holdings’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Mosaic Company (The) | 2.07% | 3.31% | 1.88% |
| CF Industries Holdings | -9.98% | -0.40% | -0.17% |
Summary
Mosaic Company (The) beats CF Industries Holdings on 9 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.
About Mosaic Company (The)
The Mosaic Company is a producer and marketer of concentrated phosphate and potash crop nutrients. The Company operates through three segments: Phosphates, Potash and International Distribution. The Company is a supplier of phosphate- and potash-based crop nutrients and animal feed ingredients. The Phosphates segment owns and operates mines and production facilities in Florida, which produce concentrated phosphate crop nutrients and phosphate-based animal feed ingredients, and processing plants in Louisiana, which produce concentrated phosphate crop nutrients. The Potash segment mines and processes potash in Canada and the United States, and sells potash in North America and internationally. The International Distribution segment markets phosphate-, potash- and nitrogen-based crop nutrients and animal feed ingredients, and provides other ancillary services to wholesalers, cooperatives, independent retailers and farmers in South America and the Asia-Pacific regions.
About CF Industries Holdings
CF Industries Holdings, Inc. manufactures and distributes nitrogen fertilizer, and other nitrogen products. The Company’s nitrogen fertilizer products are ammonia, granular urea, urea ammonium nitrate solution (UAN) and ammonium nitrate (AN). Its other nitrogen products include diesel exhaust fluid (DEF), urea liquor, nitric acid and aqua ammonia, which are sold primarily to the Company’s industrial customers, and compound fertilizer products (nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium or NPKs). The Company’s segments include ammonia, granular urea, UAN, AN and other. The Company’s ammonia segment produces anhydrous ammonia (ammonia), which is concentrated nitrogen fertilizer as it contains 82% nitrogen. The granular urea segment produces granular urea, which contains 46% nitrogen. The UAN segment produces urea ammonium nitrate solution. The Other segment includes DEF, urea liquor, nitric acid and NPKs. The Company’s primary nitrogen fertilizer products are ammonia, granular urea, UAN and AN.
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