Wall Street Zen Upgrades Compass Minerals International (NYSE:CMP) to “Buy”

Compass Minerals International (NYSE:CMP) was upgraded by Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Saturday.

Several other research firms have also recently weighed in on CMP. Zacks Research cut Compass Minerals International from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Compass Minerals International from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $20.00 to $30.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “buy” rating and set a $35.00 target price on shares of Compass Minerals International in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Compass Minerals International from a “sell (d)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. Finally, Compass Point set a $30.00 price target on Compass Minerals International in a report on Thursday, May 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $28.80.

Compass Minerals International Stock Performance

Shares of Compass Minerals International stock opened at $29.42 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $30.24 and its 200 day simple moving average is $26.49. The company has a current ratio of 2.06, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.60. The company has a market capitalization of $1.23 billion, a PE ratio of 196.11 and a beta of 1.24. Compass Minerals International has a 12 month low of $16.40 and a 12 month high of $34.50.

Compass Minerals International (NYSE:CMP) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The basic materials company reported $0.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.59 by $0.04. Compass Minerals International had a return on equity of 8.99% and a net margin of 0.55%.The firm had revenue of $453.20 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $418.97 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.63 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Compass Minerals International will post 0.82 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Compass Minerals International

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of CMP. SailingStone Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in Compass Minerals International by 6.1% in the fourth quarter. SailingStone Capital Partners LLC now owns 5,414,067 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $106,332,000 after purchasing an additional 308,957 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Compass Minerals International by 14.7% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,775,116 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $53,282,000 after buying an additional 354,960 shares in the last quarter. Engine Capital Management LP increased its holdings in Compass Minerals International by 275.4% during the first quarter. Engine Capital Management LP now owns 1,439,065 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $33,602,000 after buying an additional 1,055,740 shares during the last quarter. Irenic Capital Management LP acquired a new position in Compass Minerals International during the first quarter worth $33,520,000. Finally, Ewing Morris & Co. Investment Partners Ltd. lifted its stake in Compass Minerals International by 201.7% in the second quarter. Ewing Morris & Co. Investment Partners Ltd. now owns 1,280,648 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $25,728,000 after acquiring an additional 856,149 shares during 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.