Compass Minerals International, Inc. (NYSE:CMP) Given Average Recommendation of "Reduce" by Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts have a “Reduce” consensus on Compass Minerals, with two sell, two hold and one buy rating. The average 12-month price target is $27.60, only modestly above the stock’s $25.87 price.
• Institutional investors made significant changes to their positions, including large increases from Renaissance Technologies and Bank of America. Hedge funds and other institutions collectively own 99.78% of the company.
• Compass Minerals missed quarterly earnings expectations, reporting a loss of $0.14 per share versus the $0.06 loss analysts anticipated, although revenue of $215.3 million exceeded estimates and rose slightly year over year.

Compass Minerals International, Inc. (NYSE:CMP - Get Free Report) has been given an average rating of "Reduce" by the five ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have given a hold recommendation and one has assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $27.60.

CMP has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued an "underweight" rating and set a $27.00 price objective (down from $30.00) on shares of Compass Minerals International in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a "buy" rating and set a $35.00 price target on shares of Compass Minerals International in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Compass Minerals International from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "sell (d)" rating in a report on Thursday, August 13th. Compass Point set a $27.00 price objective on Compass Minerals International in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Compass Minerals International from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday, August 2nd.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Compass Minerals International

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of CMP. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Compass Minerals International by 18.2% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 913,683 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $21,333,000 after purchasing an additional 140,918 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its stake in Compass Minerals International by 994.4% during the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 172,911 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $4,037,000 after buying an additional 157,111 shares during the last quarter. Irenic Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of Compass Minerals International during the 1st quarter valued at $33,520,000. Aristeia Capital L.L.C. lifted its holdings in shares of Compass Minerals International by 87.7% during the 4th quarter. Aristeia Capital L.L.C. now owns 56,439 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,108,000 after buying an additional 26,371 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE boosted its stake in shares of Compass Minerals International by 692.8% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,253,045 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $29,259,000 after buying an additional 1,094,987 shares during the last quarter. 99.78% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Compass Minerals International Trading Down 0.5%

Compass Minerals International stock opened at $25.87 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 2.01, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.72. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $28.93 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $26.99. Compass Minerals International has a 12 month low of $16.40 and a 12 month high of $34.50. The company has a market capitalization of $1.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 60.16 and a beta of 1.23.

Compass Minerals International (NYSE:CMP - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The basic materials company reported ($0.14) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.06) by ($0.08). The company had revenue of $215.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $207.75 million. Compass Minerals International had a return on equity of 12.75% and a net margin of 1.42%.The company's revenue was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($0.39) earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Compass Minerals International will post 0.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Compass Minerals International

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.

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