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

Shares of Compass Minerals International, Inc. (NYSE:CMP) have been assigned an average rating of “Reduce” from the five ratings firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $22.00.

CMP has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Compass Minerals International from $20.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. Compass Point set a $22.00 price objective on shares of Compass Minerals International in a research report on Tuesday, December 16th. 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. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Compass Minerals International in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Zacks Research raised Compass Minerals International from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 11th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Compass Minerals International

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Nomura Holdings Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Compass Minerals International in the 2nd quarter valued at $5,168,000. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in Compass Minerals International by 57.6% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 916,088 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $18,404,000 after acquiring an additional 334,857 shares during the period. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft purchased a new stake in Compass Minerals International during the 2nd quarter valued at about $302,000. Assetmark Inc. grew its stake in Compass Minerals International by 98.5% during the 2nd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 75,974 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,526,000 after purchasing an additional 37,691 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Compass Minerals International in the third quarter valued at about $5,572,000. 99.78% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Compass Minerals International Stock Up 1.1%

Compass Minerals International stock opened at $22.73 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 2.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.55. The firm has a market cap of $950.40 million, a P/E ratio of -11.84 and a beta of 1.17. The business has a fifty day moving average of $18.95 and a two-hundred day moving average of $19.35. Compass Minerals International has a twelve month low of $8.60 and a twelve month high of $23.09.

Compass Minerals International (NYSE:CMP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, December 8th. The basic materials company reported ($0.17) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.15) by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $227.50 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $223.72 million. Compass Minerals International had a negative return on equity of 8.22% and a negative net margin of 6.42%.The company’s revenue was up 9.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.77) earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Compass Minerals International will post -0.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.