Compass Minerals International (NYSE:CMP) Stock Rating Upgraded by Zacks Research

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

A number of other research analysts also recently issued reports on CMP. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Compass Minerals International in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Compass Minerals International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated an “underweight” rating and issued a $18.00 price objective (up from $15.00) on shares of Compass Minerals International in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Compass Minerals International has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $20.00.

Compass Minerals International Stock Up 2.1%

Shares of CMP stock opened at $18.30 on Tuesday. Compass Minerals International has a 12-month low of $8.60 and a 12-month high of $22.69. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 2.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.30. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $18.36 and a 200-day moving average of $19.08. The company has a market capitalization of $762.76 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.27 and a beta of 1.13.

Compass Minerals International (NYSE:CMP) last announced its earnings results on Monday, August 11th. The basic materials company reported ($0.39) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.13) by ($0.26). Compass Minerals International had a negative return on equity of 16.70% and a negative net margin of 9.87%.The company had revenue of $214.60 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $208.60 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted ($1.05) earnings per share. Compass Minerals International’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Compass Minerals International will post -0.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Compass Minerals International

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of CMP. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in Compass Minerals International by 3.2% in the 1st quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 49,191 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $457,000 after acquiring an additional 1,535 shares during the period. Readystate Asset Management LP increased its stake in shares of Compass Minerals International by 8.7% during the first quarter. Readystate Asset Management LP now owns 65,699 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $610,000 after purchasing an additional 5,246 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. lifted its holdings in Compass Minerals International by 27.4% during the 1st quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 38,283 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $356,000 after purchasing an additional 8,233 shares during the last quarter. Corton Capital Inc. lifted its holdings in Compass Minerals International by 65.4% during the 1st quarter. Corton Capital Inc. now owns 18,690 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $174,000 after purchasing an additional 7,390 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. bought a new stake in Compass Minerals International in the 1st quarter valued at $40,000. Institutional investors own 99.78% of the company’s stock.

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.