Compass Minerals International (NYSE:CMP) Downgraded to Hold Rating by Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen cut shares of Compass Minerals International (NYSE:CMP - Free Report) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Thursday morning.

CMP has been the topic of a number of other research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Compass Minerals International from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $13.00 to $15.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Compass Minerals International from $15.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Monday, May 12th.

Compass Minerals International Stock Up 3.8%

Compass Minerals International stock traded up $0.73 during trading on Thursday, reaching $19.92. The stock had a trading volume of 1,092,428 shares, compared to its average volume of 680,401. The company has a quick ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 2.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.67. Compass Minerals International has a 52-week low of $7.51 and a 52-week high of $20.75. The stock has a market cap of $826.84 million, a PE ratio of -5.06 and a beta of 0.95. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $13.14 and a 200 day moving average price of $12.61.

Compass Minerals International (NYSE:CMP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The basic materials company reported $0.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.39 by $0.24. The business had revenue of $494.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $413.96 million. Compass Minerals International had a negative net margin of 15.10% and a negative return on equity of 10.00%. Compass Minerals International's revenue for the quarter was up 35.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Compass Minerals International will post -0.53 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Compass Minerals International

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Koch Inc. acquired a new position in Compass Minerals International during the fourth quarter worth approximately $79,139,000. Nuveen Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Compass Minerals International by 642.5% during the fourth quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 1,058,551 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $11,909,000 after acquiring an additional 915,983 shares during the last quarter. SailingStone Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Compass Minerals International by 13.7% in the 4th quarter. SailingStone Capital Partners LLC now owns 5,427,142 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $61,055,000 after acquiring an additional 652,129 shares during the period. Lightrock Netherlands B.V. purchased a new stake in Compass Minerals International in the 4th quarter valued at $6,394,000. Finally, Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in Compass Minerals International during the 1st quarter worth $4,279,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.78% of the company's stock.

Compass Minerals International Company Profile

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.