Compass Minerals International (NYSE:CMP) Sets New 52-Week Low at $13.10

Compass Minerals International, Inc. (NYSE:CMP) reached a new 52-week low during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $13.10 and last traded at $13.26, with a volume of 35536 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $13.72.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CMP has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Compass Minerals International from $24.00 to $21.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 9th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on Compass Minerals International from $75.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 11th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on Compass Minerals International from $25.00 to $20.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Finally, Loop Capital downgraded shares of Compass Minerals International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $29.00 to $26.00 in a research note on Monday, March 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $34.40.

Compass Minerals International Trading Down 1.3 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.98, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 3.07. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $19.01 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $22.61.

Compass Minerals International (NYSE:CMP) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The basic materials company reported $0.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.24 by ($0.19). The firm had revenue of $341.70 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $352.84 million. Compass Minerals International had a positive return on equity of 4.56% and a negative net margin of 4.97%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Compass Minerals International, Inc. will post 0.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Compass Minerals International Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 11th were issued a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 8th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.43%. Compass Minerals International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -41.10%.

Insider Activity at Compass Minerals International

In other Compass Minerals International news, Director Joseph E. Reece bought 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 22nd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $21.24 per share, for a total transaction of $106,200.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 16,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $339,840. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.52% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CMP. BlackRock Inc. raised its holdings in Compass Minerals International by 43.0% in the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 5,518,500 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $346,506,000 after buying an additional 1,660,353 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its stake in Compass Minerals International by 38.9% during the 1st quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,603,210 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $163,456,000 after buying an additional 728,597 shares during the period. Morningstar Investment Services LLC lifted its holdings in Compass Minerals International by 89.2% during the 4th quarter. Morningstar Investment Services LLC now owns 1,352,718 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $35,333,000 after buying an additional 637,883 shares in the last quarter. Magnolia Group LLC boosted its position in Compass Minerals International by 105.8% in the 4th quarter. Magnolia Group LLC now owns 849,490 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $21,509,000 after buying an additional 436,660 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Compass Minerals International by 11.0% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,817,935 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $239,729,000 after purchasing an additional 379,107 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.78% of the company’s stock.

Compass Minerals International Company Profile

Compass Minerals International, Inc, provides essential minerals in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and internationally. It operates through two segments, Salt and Plant Nutrition. The Salt segment produces, markets, and sells sodium chloride and magnesium chloride, including rock salt, mechanically and solar evaporated salt, and brine and flake magnesium chloride products; and purchases potassium chloride and calcium chloride to sell as finished products or to blend with sodium chloride to produce specialty products.