Compass Minerals International (NYSE:CMP) Raised to “Strong-Buy” at Zacks Research

Compass Minerals International (NYSE:CMP) was upgraded by equities researchers at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report issued on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their target price on Compass Minerals International from $22.00 to $21.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 11th. Compass Point set a $22.00 price objective on Compass Minerals International in a research report on Tuesday, December 16th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Compass Minerals International in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Compass Minerals International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, December 13th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Compass Minerals International presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $22.00.

Compass Minerals International Stock Performance

Shares of CMP opened at $23.69 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $22.23 and a two-hundred day moving average of $19.91. The stock has a market cap of $991.83 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -25.75 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.39, a current ratio of 2.59 and a quick ratio of 1.53. Compass Minerals International has a one year low of $8.60 and a one year high of $27.00.

Compass Minerals International (NYSE:CMP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The basic materials company reported $0.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $396.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $329.23 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned ($0.55) earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 28.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Compass Minerals International will post -0.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Compass Minerals International

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CMP. CWM LLC lifted its position in Compass Minerals International by 95.0% during the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,363 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 664 shares during the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue acquired a new position in shares of Compass Minerals International during the 3rd quarter worth about $31,000. Comerica Bank lifted its position in shares of Compass Minerals International by 80.0% during the 4th quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 1,868 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 830 shares during the last quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System bought a new stake in Compass Minerals International during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $60,000. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in Compass Minerals International in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $83,000. 99.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.