Compass Minerals International, Inc. (NYSE:CMP) Given Average Recommendation of “Hold” by Analysts

Compass Minerals International, Inc. (NYSE:CMP) has been given an average rating of “Hold” by the five ratings firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have given a hold recommendation and one has issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $28.80.

Several research firms have recently weighed in on CMP. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Compass Minerals International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, July 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $35.00 price objective on shares of Compass Minerals International in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Compass Minerals International from a “sell (d)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Thursday, June 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Compass Minerals International from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $20.00 to $30.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. Finally, Zacks Research cut Compass Minerals International from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, May 4th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Compass Minerals International

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its holdings in Compass Minerals International by 6,266.7% in the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,719 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 1,692 shares in the last quarter. Comerica Bank raised its holdings in shares of Compass Minerals International by 80.0% during the 4th quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 1,868 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 830 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Compass Minerals International by 94.4% during the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 2,216 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $52,000 after acquiring an additional 1,076 shares during the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Compass Minerals International during the 1st quarter valued at about $70,000. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in shares of Compass Minerals International during the 2nd quarter valued at about $83,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.78% of the company’s stock.

Compass Minerals International Stock Down 0.2%

NYSE CMP opened at $29.05 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $29.90 and a 200 day moving average price of $25.74. Compass Minerals International has a one year low of $16.40 and a one year high of $34.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.60, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 2.06. The company has a market cap of $1.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 193.63 and a beta of 1.24.

Compass Minerals International (NYSE:CMP) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The basic materials company reported $0.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.59 by $0.04. Compass Minerals International had a net margin of 0.55% and a return on equity of 8.99%. 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 company posted $0.63 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Compass Minerals International will post 0.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.