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

Shares of Compass Minerals International, Inc. (NYSE:CMP) have been given an average rating of “Reduce” by the five analysts that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $27.60.

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on CMP. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and issued a $27.00 price objective (down from $30.00) on shares of Compass Minerals International in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Compass Point set a $27.00 target price on shares of Compass Minerals International in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Compass Minerals International from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Compass Minerals International from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 13th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Compass Minerals International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, August 2nd.

Institutional Trading of Compass Minerals International

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Compass Minerals International by 18.2% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 913,683 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $21,333,000 after buying an additional 140,918 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its position in shares of Compass Minerals International by 994.4% in the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 172,911 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $4,037,000 after acquiring an additional 157,111 shares during the period. Irenic Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Compass Minerals International in the 1st quarter valued at $33,520,000. Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in Compass Minerals International by 692.8% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,253,045 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $29,259,000 after acquiring an additional 1,094,987 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Aristeia Capital L.L.C. raised its stake in Compass Minerals International by 87.7% in the 4th quarter. Aristeia Capital L.L.C. now owns 56,439 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,108,000 after acquiring an additional 26,371 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.78% of the company’s stock.

Compass Minerals International Trading Up 0.5%

CMP opened at $24.74 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 2.01, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.72. The firm has a market cap of $1.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 57.53 and a beta of 1.23. Compass Minerals International has a 12 month low of $16.40 and a 12 month high of $34.50. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $28.31 and a 200-day moving average price of $27.03.

Compass Minerals International (NYSE:CMP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The basic materials company reported ($0.14) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.06) by ($0.08). The company had revenue of $215.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $207.75 million. Compass Minerals International had a net margin of 1.42% and a return on equity of 12.75%. Compass Minerals International’s revenue for the quarter was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned ($0.39) EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Compass Minerals International will post 0.92 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.