Compass Minerals International (NYSE:CMP) Rating Increased to Buy at Loop Capital

Compass Minerals International (NYSE:CMP) was upgraded by equities researchers at Loop Capital from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday, Marketbeat reports. The brokerage presently has a $23.00 target price on the basic materials company’s stock, down from their prior target price of $26.00. Loop Capital’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 76.38% from the company’s current price.

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on Compass Minerals International from $75.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Compass Minerals International from $24.00 to $21.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 9th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on Compass Minerals International from $25.00 to $20.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Compass Minerals International has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $33.80.

Compass Minerals International Trading Up 3.3 %

Compass Minerals International stock opened at $13.04 on Friday. Compass Minerals International has a one year low of $11.85 and a one year high of $39.78. The stock has a market cap of $538.68 million, a PE ratio of -8.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.98, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 3.07. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $17.44 and a two-hundred day moving average of $21.77.

Compass Minerals International (NYSE:CMP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 7th. The basic materials company reported $0.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.24 by ($0.19). Compass Minerals International had a positive return on equity of 4.56% and a negative net margin of 4.97%. The firm had revenue of $341.70 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $352.84 million. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Compass Minerals International will post 0.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Compass Minerals International

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of CMP. Morningstar Investment Services LLC grew its holdings in Compass Minerals International by 89.2% in the fourth quarter. Morningstar Investment Services LLC now owns 1,352,718 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $35,333,000 after purchasing an additional 637,883 shares during the period. Magnolia Group LLC grew its holdings in Compass Minerals International by 105.8% in the fourth quarter. Magnolia Group LLC now owns 849,490 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $21,509,000 after purchasing an additional 436,660 shares during the period. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. acquired a new stake in Compass Minerals International in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $5,039,000. Shapiro Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Compass Minerals International by 17.9% in the third quarter. Shapiro Capital Management LLC now owns 1,278,722 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $35,740,000 after purchasing an additional 193,725 shares during the period. Finally, Yost Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Compass Minerals International in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $4,583,000. 99.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.