The Mosaic Company Hikes Dividends and Moves Higher
GuruFocus.com
In this article, let's take a look at The Mosaic Company (MOS), a $17.33 billion market cap company, which produces and markets concentrated phosphate and potash crop nutrients for the agricultural industry worldwide.
Dividend Hike
The firm has an attractive dividend policy showing its commitment to return cash to investors in the form of dividends as it generates healthy cash flow on a regular basis.
Mosaic has announced a 10% increase in the annual dividend to $1.10 from $1.00 per share. The dividend yield was 2.11%, and with a closing price of $46.05 we obtain an annualized dividend yield of 2.4%.
According to MarketWatch, President and Chief Executive Officer Jim Prokopanko, said that "This increased commitment to shareholder dividends demonstrates our confidence that Mosaic will continue to generate strong cash flow across business cycles, and fulfills our stated intention to grow dividends as our business grows".
So now, let�s take a look at the company�s valuation and try to elucidate if it is a good buy.
Valuation
In stock valuation models, dividend discount models (DDM) define cash flow as the dividends to be received by the shareholders. Extending the period indefinitely, the fundamental value of the stock is the present value of an infinite stream of dividends according to John Burr Williams.
Although this is theoretically correct, it requires forecasting dividends for many periods, so we can use some growth models like: Gordon (constant) growth model, the Two or Three stage growth model or the H-Model (which is a special case of a two-stage model).With the appropriate model, we can forecast dividends up to the end of the investment horizon where we no longer have confidence in the forecasts and then forecast a terminal value based on some other method, such as a multiple of book value or earnings.
To start with, the Gordon Growth Model (GGM) assumes that dividends increase at a constant rate indefinitely.
This formula condenses to: V0=(D0 (1+g))/(r-g)=D1/(r-g)
where:
V0 = fundamental value
D0 = last year dividends per share of Exxon's common stock
r = required rate of return on the common stock
g = dividend growth rate
Let�s estimate the inputs for modeling:
Required Rate of Return (r)
The capital asset pricing model (CAPM) estimates the required return on equity using the following formula: required return on stockj = risk-free rate + beta of j x equity risk premium
Assumptions:
Risk-Free Rate: Rate of return on LT Government Debt: RF = 2.67%. This is a very low rate because of today�s context. Since 1900, yields have ranged from a little less than 2% to 15%; with an average rate of 4.9%. So I think it is more appropriate to use this rate.
The sustainable growth rate is the rate at which earnings and dividends can grow indefinitely assuming that the firm�s debt-to-equity ratio is unchanged and it doesn�t issue new equity.
Because for most companies, the GGM is unrealistic, let�s consider the H-Model which assumes a growth rate that starts high and then declines linearly over the high growth stage, until it reverts to the long-run rate. A smoother transition to the mature phase growth rate that is more realistic.
Dividend growth rate (g) implied by Gordon growth model (long-run rate)
G(2), g(3) and g(4) are calculated using linear interpolation between g(1) and g(5).
Calculation of Intrinsic Value
Year
Value
Cash Flow
Present value
0
Div 0
1.10
1
Div 1
1.21
1.04
2
Div 2
1.35
1.00
3
Div 3
1.51
0.96
4
Div 4
1.70
0.93
5
Div 5
1.93
0.91
5
Terminal Value
80.72
38.07
Intrinsic value
42.92
Current share price
46.05
Final Comment
We have covered just one valuation method and investors should not be relied on alone in order to determine a fair (over/under) value for a potential investment.
The price is above the intrinsic value, so we can say that the stock is overvalued, and so, subject to a potential sale. In my opinion, considering a margin of safety of 20%, the price is between the limit, so it is fairly priced. In other words, $51.5 will be the target price to sale the stock.
Hedge funds gurus like Paul Tudor Jones (Trades, Portfolio), Ray Dalio (Trades, Portfolio), Louis Moore Bacon (Trades, Portfolio) and John Buckingham (Trades, Portfolio) have taken long positions in the stock in the fourth quarter of 2014.
Disclosure: Omar Venerio holds no position in any stocks mentioned.
[1] This values where obtained from Blommberg�s CRP function.
