Compass Minerals International (NYSE:CMP) Cut to "Hold" at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Compass Minerals International was downgraded by Wall Street Zen from “buy” to “hold”, adding to a mixed analyst picture that includes sell and hold ratings from other firms.
• The stock was down 1.2% and recently traded at $27.90, above its 50-day and 200-day moving averages, with a market cap of about $1.17 billion.
• The company beat quarterly earnings and revenue estimates, reporting $0.63 EPS on $453.2 million in revenue, though sales still declined 8.4% year over year.

Compass Minerals International (NYSE:CMP - Get Free Report) was downgraded by Wall Street Zen from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note issued on Saturday.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Compass Minerals International in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Compass Minerals International from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $22.00.

Compass Minerals International Stock Down 1.2%

CMP opened at $27.90 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.60, a current ratio of 2.06 and a quick ratio of 1.53. The company's 50-day moving average is $24.37 and its 200 day moving average is $21.89. Compass Minerals International has a fifty-two week low of $16.40 and a fifty-two week high of $30.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 185.98 and a beta of 1.18.

Compass Minerals International (NYSE:CMP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The basic materials company reported $0.63 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.59 by $0.04. Compass Minerals International had a net margin of 0.55% and a return on equity of 8.99%. The company had revenue of $453.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $418.97 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.63 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was down 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Compass Minerals International will post 0.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Compass Minerals International

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its holdings in Compass Minerals International by 94.4% during the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 2,216 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $52,000 after buying an additional 1,076 shares during the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Compass Minerals International during the first quarter worth about $70,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in Compass Minerals International by 18.2% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 913,683 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $21,333,000 after buying an additional 140,918 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. increased its holdings in Compass Minerals International by 10.6% during the first quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 49,514 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,156,000 after buying an additional 4,751 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp increased its holdings in Compass Minerals International by 6,266.7% during the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,719 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 1,692 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.

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