Decline in Fertilizer Pricing Affected Mosaic Co. (MOS) in Q2
Ariel Investments, an investment management company, released its “Ariel Focus Fund” second-quarter 2023 investor letter. A copy of the same can be downloaded here. In the second quarter, the fund increased +1.97%, compared to a +4.07% and +8.74% return for the Russell 1000 Value Index and the S&P 500 Index, respectively. Global markets continued to rise in the second quarter however, the US economy continues to show signs of cooling. Despite uncertainty and volatility expected to remain high, the firm views these near-term concerns as noise from the perspective of its long-term investment horizon. In addition, you can check the top 5 holdings of the fund to know its best picks in 2023.
Ariel Focus Fund highlighted stocks like The Mosaic Company (NYSE:MOS) in the second quarter 2023 investor letter. Headquartered in Tampa, Florida, The Mosaic Company (NYSE:MOS) is a crop nutrient manufacturer. On September 8, 2023, The Mosaic Company (NYSE:MOS) stock closed at $37.65 per share. One-month return of The Mosaic Company (NYSE:MOS) was -7.29%, and its shares lost 28.20% of their value over the last 52 weeks. The Mosaic Company (NYSE:MOS) has a market capitalization of $12.51 billion.
Ariel Focus Fund made the following comment about The Mosaic Company (NYSE:MOS) in its Q2 2023 investor letter:
"There were a few notable performance detractors in the quarter. Producer and marketer of crop nutrients, Mosaic Company (NYSE:MOS), traded lower in the period as a deceleration in fertilizer pricing across multiple nutrients caused a broad based re-rating in near term expectations for fertilizer producers. Management stated it has embedded a conservative view on pricing into its guidance, yet maintains a fairly bullish stance on demand. This is particularly true in in North America, where growers are being incented to maximize yield. Meanwhile, MOS is paying down debt and continues to return significant capital to shareholders through buybacks. Given management’s disciplined approach towards capital allocation, we continue to believe the company is well positioned from a risk/reward standpoint."
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The Mosaic Company (NYSE:MOS) is not on our list of 30 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. As per our database, 38 hedge fund portfolios held The Mosaic Company (NYSE:MOS) at the end of second quarter which was 40 in the previous quarter.
We discussed The Mosaic Company (NYSE:MOS) in another article and shared White Brook Capital Partners' views on the capital. In addition, please check out our hedge fund investor letters Q2 2023 page for more investor letters from hedge funds and other leading investors.
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Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.
