Compass Minerals International, Inc. (NYSE:CMP) Given Consensus Rating of “Hold” by Brokerages

Compass Minerals International, Inc. (NYSE:CMP) has earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the five brokerages that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $28.80.

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Compass Minerals International from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $20.00 to $30.00 in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Weiss Ratings raised Compass Minerals International from a “sell (d)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $35.00 price objective on shares of Compass Minerals International in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Compass Point set a $30.00 price objective on Compass Minerals International in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of Compass Minerals International from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CMP. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its position in shares of Compass Minerals International by 10.5% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 49,928 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $464,000 after acquiring an additional 4,740 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its holdings in Compass Minerals International by 4.3% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 20,665 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $192,000 after purchasing an additional 858 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in Compass Minerals International by 16.1% during the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 191,626 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $3,850,000 after purchasing an additional 26,531 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its position in Compass Minerals International by 15.4% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 39,625 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $796,000 after purchasing an additional 5,292 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Prudential Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Compass Minerals International in the second quarter valued at $267,000. 99.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Compass Minerals International Stock Down 1.3%

Shares of Compass Minerals International stock opened at $29.30 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $1.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 195.34 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.60, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 2.06. Compass Minerals International has a one year low of $16.40 and a one year high of $34.50. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $30.29 and a two-hundred day moving average of $26.64.

Compass Minerals International (NYSE:CMP) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The basic materials company reported $0.63 EPS 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 analysts’ expectations of $418.97 million. Compass Minerals International had a net margin of 0.55% and a return on equity of 8.99%. The business’s revenue was down 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.63 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Compass Minerals International will post 0.82 earnings per share for the current 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.