Compass Minerals International (NYSE:CMP) Raised to Buy at Wall Street Zen

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

Several other research firms have also recently weighed in on CMP. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “buy” rating and set a $35.00 price target on shares of Compass Minerals International in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Compass Minerals International from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $20.00 to $30.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. Zacks Research lowered 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, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Compass Minerals International from a “sell (d)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $28.80.

Compass Minerals International Stock Down 1.4%

Shares of CMP opened at $29.42 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.60, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 2.06. Compass Minerals International has a 52 week low of $16.40 and a 52 week high of $34.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 196.11 and a beta of 1.24. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $30.24 and a 200-day moving average of $26.45.

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Compass Minerals International

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of CMP. SailingStone Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in Compass Minerals International by 6.1% during the 4th quarter. SailingStone Capital Partners LLC now owns 5,414,067 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $106,332,000 after acquiring an additional 308,957 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Compass Minerals International by 14.7% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,775,116 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $53,282,000 after purchasing an additional 354,960 shares during the period. Engine Capital Management LP lifted its stake in shares of Compass Minerals International by 275.4% in the 1st quarter. Engine Capital Management LP now owns 1,439,065 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $33,602,000 after purchasing an additional 1,055,740 shares during the period. Irenic Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Compass Minerals International during the 1st quarter valued at about $33,520,000. Finally, Ewing Morris & Co. Investment Partners Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Compass Minerals International by 201.7% during the 2nd quarter. Ewing Morris & Co. Investment Partners Ltd. now owns 1,280,648 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $25,728,000 after purchasing an additional 856,149 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.78% of the company’s stock.

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.