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

Shares of Compass Minerals International, Inc. (NYSE:CMP) have earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the five research firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $28.80.

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on CMP. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Compass Minerals International from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $20.00 to $30.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “buy” rating and set a $35.00 price target on shares of Compass Minerals International in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Compass Point set a $30.00 price target on shares of Compass Minerals International in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Compass Minerals International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Compass Minerals International from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd.

Compass Minerals International Stock Performance

Shares of CMP opened at $29.34 on Wednesday. Compass Minerals International has a 52 week low of $16.40 and a 52 week high of $34.50. 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 cap of $1.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 195.57 and a beta of 1.23. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $27.54 and its 200-day moving average price is $23.98.

Compass Minerals International (NYSE:CMP) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The basic materials company reported $0.63 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.59 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $453.20 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $418.97 million. Compass Minerals International had a net margin of 0.55% and a return on equity of 8.99%. Compass Minerals International’s quarterly revenue was down 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.63 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Compass Minerals International will post 0.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its stake in shares of Compass Minerals International by 692.8% in the first 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. Irenic Capital Management LP acquired a new position in Compass Minerals International in the 1st quarter valued at $33,520,000. Engine Capital Management LP lifted its holdings in Compass Minerals International by 275.4% in the 1st quarter. Engine Capital Management LP now owns 1,439,065 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $33,602,000 after purchasing an additional 1,055,740 shares in the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP lifted its holdings in Compass Minerals International by 5.2% in the 1st quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 13,670 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $319,000 after purchasing an additional 674 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its stake in Compass Minerals International by 994.4% during the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 172,911 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $4,037,000 after purchasing an additional 157,111 shares during the last quarter. 99.78% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.