Compass Minerals International (NYSE:CMP) Reaches New 12-Month High – Here’s Why

Compass Minerals International, Inc. (NYSE:CMP) shares hit a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $20.17 and last traded at $19.73, with a volume of 1448290 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $19.46.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Compass Minerals International from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Compass Minerals International from $15.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Compass Minerals International from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $13.00 to $15.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th.

Compass Minerals International Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.67, a current ratio of 2.37 and a quick ratio of 1.12. The firm has a market cap of $818.87 million, a P/E ratio of -4.99 and a beta of 0.95. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $11.58 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $12.21.

Compass Minerals International (NYSE:CMP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The basic materials company reported $0.63 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.39 by $0.24. The business had revenue of $494.60 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $413.96 million. Compass Minerals International had a negative net margin of 15.10% and a negative return on equity of 10.00%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 35.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Compass Minerals International, Inc. will post -0.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Koch Inc. bought a new position in Compass Minerals International during the 4th quarter worth about $79,139,000. Nuveen Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Compass Minerals International by 642.5% during the 4th quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 1,058,551 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $11,909,000 after acquiring an additional 915,983 shares in the last quarter. SailingStone Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in Compass Minerals International by 13.7% during the 4th quarter. SailingStone Capital Partners LLC now owns 5,427,142 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $61,055,000 after acquiring an additional 652,129 shares in the last quarter. Lightrock Netherlands B.V. bought a new position in Compass Minerals International during the 4th quarter worth about $6,394,000. Finally, Nuveen LLC bought a new position in Compass Minerals International during the 1st quarter worth about $4,279,000. 99.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Compass Minerals International

Compass Minerals International, Inc, provides essential minerals in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and internationally. It operates through two segments, Salt and Plant Nutrition. The Salt segment produces, markets, and sells sodium chloride and magnesium chloride, including rock salt, mechanically and solar evaporated salt, and brine and flake magnesium chloride products; and purchases potassium chloride and calcium chloride to sell as finished products or to blend with sodium chloride to produce specialty products.