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

Compass Minerals International, Inc. (NYSE:CMP) has been given a consensus rating of “Hold” by the five analysts that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $28.80.

Several equities analysts recently commented on CMP shares. Compass Point set a $30.00 target price on Compass Minerals International in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Wall Street Zen cut Compass Minerals International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday. Weiss Ratings upgraded Compass Minerals International from a “sell (d)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “buy” rating and set a $35.00 target price on shares of Compass Minerals International in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Compass Minerals International from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price target for the company from $20.00 to $30.00 in a report on Thursday, May 14th.

Compass Minerals International Trading Up 0.5%

NYSE CMP opened at $29.96 on Thursday. Compass Minerals International has a 52 week low of $16.40 and a 52 week high of $34.50. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $30.16 and a two-hundred day moving average of $26.87. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 2.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.26 billion, a PE ratio of 199.75 and a beta of 1.23.

Compass Minerals International (NYSE:CMP) last announced 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 firm had revenue of $215.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $207.75 million. Compass Minerals International had a net margin of 0.55% and a return on equity of 8.99%. Compass Minerals International’s revenue for the quarter was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted ($0.39) earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Compass Minerals International will post 0.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Compass Minerals International

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. SailingStone Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in Compass Minerals International by 6.1% in the fourth quarter. SailingStone Capital Partners LLC now owns 5,414,067 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $106,332,000 after acquiring an additional 308,957 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Compass Minerals International by 14.7% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,775,116 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $53,282,000 after purchasing an additional 354,960 shares during the last quarter. Engine Capital Management LP grew its holdings in shares of Compass Minerals International by 275.4% during the first quarter. Engine Capital Management LP now owns 1,439,065 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $33,602,000 after purchasing an additional 1,055,740 shares during the last quarter. Irenic Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Compass Minerals International during the first quarter worth about $33,520,000. Finally, Ewing Morris & Co. Investment Partners Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Compass Minerals International by 201.7% in the 2nd quarter. Ewing Morris & Co. Investment Partners Ltd. now owns 1,280,648 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $25,728,000 after purchasing 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 Company Profile

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.