JPMorgan Chase & Co. Upgrades Compass Minerals International (NYSE:CMP) to Neutral

Compass Minerals International (NYSE:CMP) was upgraded by equities researchers at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report issued on Thursday. The brokerage currently has a $30.00 price objective on the basic materials company’s stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s price target would indicate a potential downside of 0.76% from the stock’s current price.

Other analysts have also issued reports about the company. Wall Street Zen lowered Compass Minerals International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Compass Minerals International from a “sell (d-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Monday. Compass Point set a $30.00 target price on shares of Compass Minerals International in a report on Thursday. Finally, 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $26.00.

Compass Minerals International Stock Performance

Shares of Compass Minerals International stock opened at $30.23 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $24.69 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $22.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 201.54 and a beta of 1.18. Compass Minerals International has a fifty-two week low of $16.40 and a fifty-two week high of $31.02. 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 (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, topping the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of $453.20 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $418.97 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.63 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Compass Minerals International will post 0.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of CMP. State of Alaska Department of Revenue bought a new stake in Compass Minerals International in the third quarter valued at $31,000. Comerica Bank increased its position 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 valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 830 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its stake in Compass Minerals International by 6,266.7% during the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,719 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 1,692 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its position in Compass Minerals International by 94.4% in the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 2,216 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 1,076 shares during the period. Finally, New York State Teachers Retirement System acquired a new position in Compass Minerals International during the third quarter worth $60,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.