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

Compass Minerals International, Inc. (NYSE:CMP) has received an average recommendation of “Hold” from the five analysts that are covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $22.00.

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Compass Minerals International in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Loop Capital set a $24.00 price objective on shares of Compass Minerals International in a research report on Tuesday, December 30th. Zacks Research raised shares of Compass Minerals International from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Compass Minerals International from $20.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Compass Minerals International

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. GSA Capital Partners LLP increased its position in shares of Compass Minerals International by 357.0% in the 3rd quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 63,742 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,224,000 after purchasing an additional 49,793 shares during the last quarter. Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Compass Minerals International in the 3rd quarter valued at $806,000. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Compass Minerals International in the 3rd quarter valued at $422,000. O Keefe Stevens Advisory Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Compass Minerals International by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. O Keefe Stevens Advisory Inc. now owns 593,887 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $11,664,000 after buying an additional 23,860 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Compass Minerals International by 8,417.1% in the 3rd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 335,061 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $6,433,000 after buying an additional 331,127 shares in the last quarter. 99.78% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Compass Minerals International Price Performance

Shares of CMP opened at $25.40 on Tuesday. Compass Minerals International has a fifty-two week low of $11.12 and a fifty-two week high of $27.00. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $23.76 and its 200 day moving average price is $21.33. The company has a market cap of $1.06 billion, a P/E ratio of -27.60 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a quick ratio of 1.53, a current ratio of 2.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.39.

Compass Minerals International (NYSE:CMP) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The basic materials company reported $0.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.11 by $0.32. Compass Minerals International had a negative net margin of 2.82% and a positive return on equity of 8.69%. The firm had revenue of $396.10 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $329.23 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.55) EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 28.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Compass Minerals International will post 0.89 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.