Brokerages Set Compass Minerals International, Inc. (NYSE:CMP) PT at $28.80

Shares of Compass Minerals International, Inc. (NYSE:CMP) have received a consensus rating of “Hold” from the five brokerages that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $28.80.

Several research analysts have weighed in on CMP shares. Zacks Research lowered shares of Compass Minerals International from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Compass Minerals International from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $20.00 to $30.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “buy” rating and set a $35.00 price target on shares of Compass Minerals International in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Weiss Ratings raised Compass Minerals International from a “sell (d)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Compass Minerals International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, July 5th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in CMP. SailingStone Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Compass Minerals International by 6.1% during the 4th quarter. SailingStone Capital Partners LLC now owns 5,414,067 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $106,332,000 after buying an additional 308,957 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Compass Minerals International by 14.7% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,775,116 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $53,282,000 after acquiring an additional 354,960 shares during the last quarter. Engine Capital Management LP increased its holdings in Compass Minerals International by 275.4% during the 1st quarter. Engine Capital Management LP now owns 1,439,065 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $33,602,000 after acquiring an additional 1,055,740 shares in the last quarter. Irenic Capital Management LP purchased a new position in Compass Minerals International during the 1st quarter valued at about $33,520,000. Finally, Ewing Morris & Co. Investment Partners Ltd. raised its position in Compass Minerals International by 201.7% during the second quarter. Ewing Morris & Co. Investment Partners Ltd. now owns 1,280,648 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $25,728,000 after acquiring an additional 856,149 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.78% of the company’s stock.

Compass Minerals International Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CMP traded up $0.83 during trading on Friday, hitting $29.86. 246,442 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 451,258. 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 has a 1 year low of $16.40 and a 1 year high of $34.50. The company has a market cap of $1.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 199.05 and a beta of 1.24. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $29.99 and its 200 day moving average price is $25.77.

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

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.