Compass Minerals International (NYSE:CMP) Upgraded at Loop Capital

Loop Capital upgraded shares of Compass Minerals International (NYSE:CMP) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report published on Friday, Marketbeat reports. The firm currently has $23.00 price objective on the basic materials company’s stock, down from their prior price objective of $26.00.

Several other research firms have also recently weighed in on CMP. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Compass Minerals International from $24.00 to $21.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 9th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of Compass Minerals International from $75.00 to $60.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 11th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on shares of Compass Minerals International from $25.00 to $20.00 and set a market perform rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $33.80.

Compass Minerals International Trading Up 3.3 %

CMP opened at $13.04 on Friday. Compass Minerals International has a twelve month low of $11.85 and a twelve month high of $39.78. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $17.44 and a 200 day simple moving average of $21.73. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 3.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $538.68 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -8.93, a P/E/G ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.13.

Compass Minerals International (NYSE:CMP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 7th. The basic materials company reported $0.05 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.24 by ($0.19). Compass Minerals International had a positive return on equity of 4.56% and a negative net margin of 4.97%. The firm had revenue of $341.70 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $352.84 million. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Compass Minerals International will post 0.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Compass Minerals International Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 11th were paid a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 8th. Compass Minerals International’s dividend payout ratio is currently -41.10%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Compass Minerals International in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $5,039,000. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in shares of Compass Minerals International by 22.8% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 120,642 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $3,372,000 after buying an additional 22,439 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake in shares of Compass Minerals International by 44.8% in the third quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 131,497 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $3,662,000 after buying an additional 40,676 shares during the period. Algert Global LLC increased its stake in shares of Compass Minerals International by 423.2% in the third quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 36,507 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,020,000 after buying an additional 29,530 shares during the period. Finally, First Foundation Advisors acquired a new stake in Compass Minerals International during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,344,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.78% of the company’s stock.

Compass Minerals International Company Profile

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.