Zacks Research Downgrades Compass Minerals International (NYSE:CMP) to Hold

Compass Minerals International (NYSE:CMP) was downgraded by analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other analysts have also recently commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Compass Minerals International from $20.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Compass Minerals International in a research note on Monday, April 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $22.00.

Compass Minerals International Trading Up 3.9%

NYSE:CMP opened at $26.44 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 2.59, a quick ratio of 1.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.39. Compass Minerals International has a 12 month low of $13.53 and a 12 month high of $27.15. The company has a market cap of $1.11 billion, a PE ratio of -28.74 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $24.24 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $21.77.

Compass Minerals International (NYSE:CMP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The basic materials company reported $0.43 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.11 by $0.32. The firm had revenue of $396.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $329.23 million. Compass Minerals International had a positive return on equity of 8.69% and a negative net margin of 2.82%.The company’s revenue was up 28.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.55) EPS. Research analysts forecast that Compass Minerals International will post 0.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. SailingStone Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of 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 valued at $106,332,000 after buying an additional 308,957 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Compass Minerals International by 14.7% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,775,116 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $53,282,000 after acquiring an additional 354,960 shares during the period. Ewing Morris & Co. Investment Partners Ltd. raised its stake in 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 worth $25,728,000 after acquiring an additional 856,149 shares during the period. Gumshoe Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Compass Minerals International during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $24,842,000. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in Compass Minerals International by 35.0% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,236,884 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $23,748,000 after purchasing an additional 320,796 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 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.