Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Takes $1.01 Million Position in Compass Minerals International, Inc. $CMP

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in Compass Minerals International, Inc. (NYSE:CMP) during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 52,711 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,012,000.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. State of Alaska Department of Revenue acquired a new position in Compass Minerals International in the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. New York State Teachers Retirement System acquired a new stake in Compass Minerals International during the 3rd quarter worth $60,000. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Compass Minerals International during the second quarter worth $83,000. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey grew its holdings in shares of Compass Minerals International by 11.2% during the second quarter. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey now owns 7,863 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $158,000 after buying an additional 791 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State of Wyoming acquired a new stake in shares of Compass Minerals International in the third quarter valued at about $176,000. 99.78% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CMP has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Loop Capital set a $24.00 price target on shares of Compass Minerals International in a research report on Tuesday, December 30th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Compass Minerals International in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Compass Minerals International from $20.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on Compass Minerals International from $22.00 to $21.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 11th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Compass Minerals International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, December 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Compass Minerals International currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $22.00.

Compass Minerals International Trading Down 1.1%

Shares of CMP stock opened at $22.73 on Friday. 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, Inc. has a twelve month low of $8.60 and a twelve month high of $27.00. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $23.72 and its 200-day moving average price is $20.39. The stock has a market cap of $951.39 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -24.70 and a beta of 1.15.

Compass Minerals International (NYSE:CMP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 4th. The basic materials company reported $0.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.11 by $0.32. Compass Minerals International had a negative net margin of 2.82% and a positive return on equity of 8.69%. The firm had revenue of $396.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $329.23 million. During the same period last year, the business earned ($0.55) earnings per share. Compass Minerals International’s revenue was up 28.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Compass Minerals International, Inc. will post -0.53 earnings per share for the current year.

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.