The Mosaic Company MOS announced the completion of its transaction with Saudi Arabian Mining Company (Ma’aden). MOS received 111,012,433 shares of Ma'aden, valued at roughly $1.5 billion on the transaction closing date, by exchanging its 25% stake in Ma'aden Wa'ad Al Shamal Phosphate Company (MWSPC). Mosaic expects to record a pre-tax gain of around $0.5 billion in the fourth quarter of 2024 based on the share price at closing. 

With the completion of this transaction, MOS now has a transparent value for its investment in Ma'aden and greater capital flexibility in the future.

Ma’aden is expected to benefit from this transaction, which is likely to strengthen its phosphate business. MOS’ CEO also expressed intentions of moving forward with this partnership with Ma’aden under the evolved structure.

MOS stock has plunged 33.5% in the past year compared with the 18.8% decline in the industry.

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Mosaic recently stated that its Potash sales volumes reached 1,228,000 tons in October and November 2024, down from 1,638,000 tons in the same period last year. Potash revenues slumped 41% year over year to $299 million from $506 million a year ago.

 In the phosphate segment, October and November 2024 sales volume was 946,000 tons, down 7% from 1,019,000 tons in the prior year. The decline reflects the impact of hurricanes Helene and Milton. Despite this setback, revenues for the two months increased to $680 million from $677 million in the comparable period last year.

MOS’ Zacks Rank and Key Picks

MOS currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

Some better-ranked stocks in the Basic Materials space are Gold Royalty Corp. GROY, MAG Silver Corp. MAG and Balchem Corporation BCPC. While GROY and MAG sport a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) each at present, BCPC carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Gold Royalty has expected earnings growth of 66.7% for the current year. GROY’s earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in three of the trailing four quarters while delivering in-line results on the other occasion, with the average surprise being 125%.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for MAG Silver’s current-year earnings is pegged at 75 cents per share. MAG surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate in each of the trailing four quarters, with an average earnings surprise of 17.1%. The stock has gained 32.2% in the past year.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Balchem’s current-year earnings is pegged at $4.01, indicating a year-over-year rise of 19.7%. BCPC’s earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in two of the last four quarters while missing in the other two. The stock has gained 11.5% in the past year.

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