Compass Minerals International, Inc. (NYSE:CMP) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Reduce” from Brokerages

Compass Minerals International, Inc. (NYSE:CMP) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Reduce” by the five research firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $20.00.

CMP has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Zacks Research raised shares of Compass Minerals International from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 11th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Compass Minerals International in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated an “underweight” rating and issued a $18.00 price objective (up previously from $15.00) on shares of Compass Minerals International in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Compass Minerals International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 16th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CMP. CWM LLC lifted its position in shares of Compass Minerals International by 95.0% in the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,363 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 664 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue purchased a new stake in Compass Minerals International in the third quarter worth about $31,000. New York State Teachers Retirement System purchased a new stake in Compass Minerals International in the third quarter worth about $60,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio boosted its position in Compass Minerals International by 37.6% during the 2nd quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 3,967 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $80,000 after acquiring an additional 1,084 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in Compass Minerals International during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $83,000. 99.78% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Compass Minerals International Trading Up 3.9%

Shares of NYSE:CMP traded up $0.67 during trading on Friday, reaching $17.69. 341,368 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 369,083. The company has a current ratio of 2.15, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.30. Compass Minerals International has a 52-week low of $8.60 and a 52-week high of $22.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $737.27 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.06 and a beta of 1.13. The business’s fifty day moving average is $18.20 and its 200-day moving average is $19.23.

About Compass Minerals International

Compass Minerals International, Inc, provides essential minerals in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and internationally. It operates through two segments, Salt and Plant Nutrition. The Salt segment produces, markets, and sells sodium chloride and magnesium chloride, including rock salt, mechanically and solar evaporated salt, and brine and flake magnesium chloride products; and purchases potassium chloride and calcium chloride to sell as finished products or to blend with sodium chloride to produce specialty products.