Compass Minerals International, Inc. (NYSE:CMP) Given Average Rating of “Hold” by Analysts

Compass Minerals International, Inc. (NYSE:CMP) has been given a consensus rating of “Hold” by the five analysts that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and one has assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $34.40.

Several research firms have weighed in on CMP. Loop Capital lowered Compass Minerals International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $29.00 to $26.00 in a research report on Monday, March 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Compass Minerals International from $24.00 to $21.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 9th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of 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. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on shares of Compass Minerals International from $25.00 to $20.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 26th.

Institutional Trading of Compass Minerals International

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. bought a new position in Compass Minerals International in the 4th quarter valued at about $5,039,000. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in shares of Compass Minerals International by 22.8% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 120,642 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $3,372,000 after purchasing an additional 22,439 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake in shares of Compass Minerals International by 44.8% during the third quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 131,497 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $3,662,000 after purchasing an additional 40,676 shares during the period. Algert Global LLC lifted its holdings in Compass Minerals International by 423.2% during the 3rd quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 36,507 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,020,000 after purchasing an additional 29,530 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Foundation Advisors bought a new stake in Compass Minerals International in the 3rd quarter valued at $1,344,000. Institutional investors own 99.78% of the company’s stock.

Compass Minerals International Price Performance

NYSE CMP opened at $12.77 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $18.01 and its 200-day moving average is $22.04. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 3.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.98. The company has a market capitalization of $527.53 million, a PE ratio of -8.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.13. Compass Minerals International has a 12-month low of $12.76 and a 12-month high of $39.78.

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

Compass Minerals International Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 11th were given a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.70%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 8th. Compass Minerals International’s payout ratio is presently -41.10%.

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.