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

Shares of Compass Minerals International, Inc. (NYSE:CMP) have earned a consensus rating of “Reduce” from the five ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have issued a hold recommendation and one has issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $27.00.

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on CMP. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price objective on Compass Minerals International from $35.00 to $32.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 31st. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Compass Minerals International from a “sell (d)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Friday, August 28th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Compass Minerals International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, August 2nd. Compass Point set a $27.00 target price on shares of Compass Minerals International in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued an “underweight” rating and issued a $27.00 price target (down from $30.00) on shares of Compass Minerals International in a research report on Monday, August 10th.

Compass Minerals International Stock Up 0.3%

CMP opened at $23.93 on Friday. Compass Minerals International has a 1-year low of $16.40 and a 1-year high of $34.50. The business has a 50 day moving average of $26.94 and a 200-day moving average of $27.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.65 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a current ratio of 2.01, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.72.

Compass Minerals International (NYSE:CMP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The basic materials company reported ($0.14) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.06) by ($0.08). Compass Minerals International had a return on equity of 12.75% and a net margin of 1.42%.The company had revenue of $215.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $207.75 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned ($0.39) earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Compass Minerals International will post 0.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Compass Minerals International

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. SailingStone Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in Compass Minerals International by 6.1% in the fourth quarter. SailingStone Capital Partners LLC now owns 5,414,067 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $106,332,000 after buying an additional 308,957 shares in the last quarter. Engine Capital Management LP increased its holdings in shares of Compass Minerals International by 275.4% during the first quarter. Engine Capital Management LP now owns 1,439,065 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $33,602,000 after buying an additional 1,055,740 shares in the last quarter. Irenic Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of Compass Minerals International in the first quarter valued at approximately $33,520,000. Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in shares of 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 valued at $29,259,000 after acquiring an additional 1,094,987 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Compass Minerals International by 18.2% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 913,683 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $21,333,000 after acquiring an additional 140,918 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.78% of the company’s stock.

Compass Minerals International Company Profile

Compass Minerals International, Inc is a producer of essential minerals serving customers in North America and selected international markets. Headquartered in Overland Park, Kansas, the company operates through two principal businesses: Salt and Plant Nutrition.

The Salt business produces and markets salt for highway deicing, consumer and commercial food use, water conditioning, agriculture, and industrial applications. Compass Minerals operates underground and solar-evaporation facilities, including the Goderich salt mine in Ontario, Canada, and the Cote Blanche mine in Louisiana.