Compass Minerals International (NYSE:CMP) Cut to “Hold” at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen cut shares of Compass Minerals International (NYSE:CMP) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report published on Sunday.

Several other brokerages also recently commented on CMP. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Compass Minerals International from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their target price for the company from $20.00 to $30.00 in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “buy” rating and issued a $35.00 price target on shares of Compass Minerals International in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Compass Minerals International from a “sell (d)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. Compass Point set a $30.00 price objective on shares of Compass Minerals International in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of Compass Minerals International from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Compass Minerals International has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $28.80.

Compass Minerals International Trading Up 3.7%

NYSE:CMP opened at $29.84 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $30.20 and its two-hundred day moving average is $26.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.60, a current ratio of 2.06 and a quick ratio of 1.34. Compass Minerals International has a 12 month low of $16.40 and a 12 month high of $34.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.25 billion, a PE ratio of 198.90 and a beta of 1.23.

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Compass Minerals International

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings in 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 valued at $29,259,000 after acquiring an additional 1,094,987 shares in the last quarter. Irenic Capital Management LP acquired a new position in Compass Minerals International during the 1st quarter worth $33,520,000. Engine Capital Management LP grew its holdings in Compass Minerals International by 275.4% during the 1st quarter. Engine Capital Management LP now owns 1,439,065 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $33,602,000 after acquiring an additional 1,055,740 shares in the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP increased its position in shares of 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 worth $319,000 after purchasing an additional 674 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its position in shares of Compass Minerals International by 994.4% in 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 currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Compass Minerals International Company Profile

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.