Compass Minerals International (NYSE:CMP) Downgraded to “Hold” Rating by Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Compass Minerals International (NYSE:CMP) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report report published on Sunday morning.

CMP has been the subject of a number of other reports. 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. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Compass Minerals International from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $35.00 price objective on shares of Compass Minerals International in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Compass Minerals International from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $20.00 to $30.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. Finally, Compass Point set a $30.00 target price on shares of Compass Minerals International in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $28.80.

Compass Minerals International Price Performance

CMP stock opened at $29.37 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $1.23 billion, a PE ratio of 195.82 and a beta of 1.23. Compass Minerals International has a 12 month low of $16.40 and a 12 month high of $34.50. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $30.27 and a 200 day moving average price of $26.74. The company has a current ratio of 2.06, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.60.

Compass Minerals International (NYSE:CMP) last posted 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 company had revenue of $453.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $418.97 million. Compass Minerals International had a net margin of 0.55% and a return on equity of 8.99%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.63 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Compass Minerals International will post 0.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Compass Minerals International

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in Compass Minerals International by 692.8% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,253,045 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $29,259,000 after buying an additional 1,094,987 shares in the last quarter. Irenic Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Compass Minerals International in the 1st quarter valued at $33,520,000. Engine Capital Management LP raised its position 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 worth $33,602,000 after acquiring an additional 1,055,740 shares in the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP lifted its stake in shares of Compass Minerals International by 5.2% during the 1st quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 13,670 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $319,000 after purchasing an additional 674 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its position in Compass Minerals International by 994.4% during the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 172,911 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $4,037,000 after purchasing an additional 157,111 shares in the last quarter. 99.78% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.