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

Compass Minerals International, Inc. (NYSE:CMP) has earned an average rating of “Reduce” from the five brokerages that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have assigned a hold recommendation and one has given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $22.00.

Several equities analysts have weighed in on CMP shares. Wall Street Zen raised Compass Minerals International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, December 13th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Compass Minerals International from $20.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Compass Minerals International from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 11th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Compass Minerals International in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on shares of Compass Minerals International from $22.00 to $21.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 11th.

Compass Minerals International Trading Up 2.5%

NYSE CMP opened at $24.16 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $19.46 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $19.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.55, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 2.15. Compass Minerals International has a twelve month low of $8.60 and a twelve month high of $24.53. The stock has a market cap of $1.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -12.58 and a beta of 1.17.

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Compass Minerals International

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CMP. CWM LLC increased its holdings in Compass Minerals International by 95.0% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,363 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 664 shares during the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue bought a new stake in Compass Minerals International in the third quarter worth approximately $31,000. New York State Teachers Retirement System acquired a new position in shares of Compass Minerals International during the 3rd quarter worth $60,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio increased its stake in shares of Compass Minerals International by 37.6% during the 2nd quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 3,967 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $80,000 after purchasing an additional 1,084 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in shares of Compass Minerals International during the 2nd quarter valued at $83,000. 99.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.