Compass Minerals International, Inc. (NYSE:CMP) Receives Average Rating of “Hold” from Analysts

Shares of Compass Minerals International, Inc. (NYSE:CMP) have earned an average rating of “Hold” from the five research firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have given a hold recommendation and one has assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $28.80.

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Weiss Ratings raised Compass Minerals International from a “sell (d)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “buy” rating and set a $35.00 target price on shares of Compass Minerals International in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Compass Minerals International from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $20.00 to $30.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. Compass Point set a $30.00 price target on Compass Minerals International in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of Compass Minerals International from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, May 4th.

Compass Minerals International Stock Down 1.3%

CMP stock opened at $29.30 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $30.29 and its 200-day simple moving average is $26.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.23 billion, a PE ratio of 195.34 and a beta of 1.24. Compass Minerals International has a 12 month low of $16.40 and a 12 month high of $34.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.60, a current ratio of 2.06 and a quick ratio of 1.34.

Compass Minerals International (NYSE:CMP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The basic materials company reported $0.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.59 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $453.20 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $418.97 million. Compass Minerals International had a return on equity of 8.99% and a net margin of 0.55%.The company’s quarterly revenue was down 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.63 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Compass Minerals International will post 0.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Irenic Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Compass Minerals International in the first quarter worth $33,520,000. Gumshoe Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Compass Minerals International during the fourth quarter worth about $24,842,000. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its position in shares of Compass Minerals International by 692.8% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,253,045 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $29,259,000 after buying an additional 1,094,987 shares during the period. Engine Capital Management LP grew its stake in shares of Compass Minerals International by 275.4% in the first quarter. Engine Capital Management LP now owns 1,439,065 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $33,602,000 after buying an additional 1,055,740 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ewing Morris & Co. Investment Partners Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Compass Minerals International by 201.7% in the second quarter. Ewing Morris & Co. Investment Partners Ltd. now owns 1,280,648 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $25,728,000 after buying an additional 856,149 shares in the last quarter. 99.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Compass Minerals International

Compass Minerals International, Inc is a global producer of essential mineral-based products, primarily known for its salt and plant nutrition portfolios. The company’s deicing salts are used by municipalities and commercial customers across North America to maintain safer roadways in winter months. In addition, its water conditioning salts serve both residential and industrial users, supporting water treatment systems that remove hard minerals to protect plumbing and equipment.

Beyond conventional salt products, Compass Minerals has developed a specialty plant nutrition business focused on sulfate of potash (SOP), a premium fertilizer that provides both potassium and sulfur to crops.