BMO Capital Markets Cuts Compass Minerals International (NYSE:CMP) Price Target to $20.00

Compass Minerals International (NYSE:CMP) had its price objective cut by BMO Capital Markets from $25.00 to $20.00 in a report published on Tuesday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a market perform rating on the basic materials company’s stock.

A number of other analysts also recently commented on CMP. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on 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. Loop Capital cut Compass Minerals International from a buy rating to a hold rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $29.00 to $26.00 in a report on Monday, March 4th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on Compass Minerals International from $75.00 to $60.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $34.40.

Compass Minerals International Stock Up 1.5 %

Compass Minerals International stock opened at $15.74 on Tuesday. Compass Minerals International has a fifty-two week low of $13.60 and a fifty-two week high of $39.78. 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 company has a market cap of $650.22 million, a PE ratio of -10.78, a PEG ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 1.17. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $20.89 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $23.80.

Compass Minerals International (NYSE:CMP) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The basic materials company reported $0.05 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.24 by ($0.19). Compass Minerals International had a positive return on equity of 4.56% and a negative net margin of 4.97%. The company had revenue of $341.70 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $352.84 million. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Compass Minerals International will post 0.3 EPS for the current year.

Compass Minerals International Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 11th were issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 8th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.81%. Compass Minerals International’s payout ratio is currently -41.10%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Compass Minerals International

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Compass Minerals International

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Private Advisor Group LLC grew its position in Compass Minerals International by 2.7% in the first quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 10,615 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $667,000 after acquiring an additional 284 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its position in Compass Minerals International by 3.6% in the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 8,742 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $300,000 after acquiring an additional 304 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers boosted its position in shares of Compass Minerals International by 0.3% during the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 105,308 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $3,580,000 after buying an additional 310 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio boosted its position in shares of Compass Minerals International by 10.5% during the third quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 3,275 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $126,000 after buying an additional 311 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Compass Minerals International by 1.0% during the third quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 40,819 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,141,000 after buying an additional 410 shares during the period. 99.78% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Compass Minerals International

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.