Compass Minerals International (NYSE:CMP) Upgraded by Wall Street Zen to Buy Rating

Compass Minerals International (NYSE:CMP) was upgraded by analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued on Saturday.

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “buy” rating and issued a $35.00 price objective on shares of Compass Minerals International in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Compass Minerals International from a “sell (d)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Compass Minerals International from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Compass Point set a $30.00 price target on shares of Compass Minerals International in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of 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 research note on Thursday, May 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $28.80.

Compass Minerals International Price Performance

Shares of CMP opened at $30.97 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.60, a current ratio of 2.06 and a quick ratio of 1.34. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $29.15 and its 200-day moving average price is $24.98. Compass Minerals International has a 1-year low of $16.40 and a 1-year high of $34.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.30 billion, a PE ratio of 206.49 and a beta of 1.23.

Compass Minerals International (NYSE:CMP) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The basic materials company reported $0.63 earnings per share (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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $418.97 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.63 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Compass Minerals International will post 0.82 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Compass Minerals International

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. O Keefe Stevens Advisory Inc. grew its holdings in Compass Minerals International by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. O Keefe Stevens Advisory Inc. now owns 593,887 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $11,664,000 after purchasing an additional 23,860 shares during the period. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Compass Minerals International during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,012,000. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in shares of Compass Minerals International by 35.0% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,236,884 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $23,748,000 after buying an additional 320,796 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its stake in Compass Minerals International by 105.9% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 45,228 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $888,000 after acquiring an additional 23,261 shares during the period. Finally, Aristeia Capital L.L.C. grew its stake in Compass Minerals International by 87.7% in the 4th quarter. Aristeia Capital L.L.C. now owns 56,439 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,108,000 after acquiring an additional 26,371 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.78% of the company’s stock.

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.