Compass Minerals International (NYSE:CMP) Reaches New 12-Month High – Still a Buy?

Compass Minerals International, Inc. (NYSE:CMP) shares reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $26.65 and last traded at $26.30, with a volume of 135273 shares. The stock had previously closed at $25.14.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on CMP. Compass Point set a $22.00 target price on shares of Compass Minerals International in a research note on Tuesday, December 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on shares of Compass Minerals International from $22.00 to $21.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. Loop Capital set a $24.00 price objective on shares of Compass Minerals International in a research note on Tuesday, December 30th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Compass Minerals International from $20.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Compass Minerals International from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $22.00.

Compass Minerals International Stock Up 3.4%

The company has a 50-day moving average of $21.15 and a two-hundred day moving average of $19.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.55, a current ratio of 2.15 and a quick ratio of 0.98. The company has a market capitalization of $1.09 billion, a PE ratio of -13.50 and a beta of 1.17.

Compass Minerals International (NYSE:CMP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, December 8th. The basic materials company reported ($0.17) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.15) by ($0.02). Compass Minerals International had a negative return on equity of 8.22% and a negative net margin of 6.42%.The firm had revenue of $227.50 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $223.72 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned ($0.77) earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Compass Minerals International, Inc. will post -0.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Compass Minerals International

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of CMP. Strs Ohio boosted its position in shares of Compass Minerals International by 17.9% during the fourth quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 23,000 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $452,000 after acquiring an additional 3,500 shares during the last quarter. Comerica Bank lifted its stake in Compass Minerals International by 80.0% in the 4th quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 1,868 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 830 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Compass Minerals International by 105.9% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 45,228 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $888,000 after purchasing an additional 23,261 shares during the last quarter. O Keefe Stevens Advisory Inc. grew its position in shares of Compass Minerals International by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. O Keefe Stevens Advisory Inc. now owns 593,887 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $11,664,000 after purchasing an additional 23,860 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nomura Holdings Inc. grew its position in shares of Compass Minerals International by 48.5% during the third quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc. now owns 382,093 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $7,336,000 after purchasing an additional 124,874 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.78% of the company’s stock.

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.