Compass Minerals International (NYSE:CMP) Rating Lowered to Buy at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen cut shares of Compass Minerals International (NYSE:CMP - Free Report) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a report released on Friday morning.

Several other analysts have also weighed in on the company. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Compass Minerals International from $15.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a "buy" rating and issued a $22.00 price objective (up previously from $14.00) on shares of Compass Minerals International in a report on Monday, June 23rd.

Compass Minerals International Price Performance

Shares of CMP stock traded up $0.09 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $20.12. 798,396 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 805,914. The company's 50 day moving average price is $17.79 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $13.52. The company has a market cap of $834.98 million, a P/E ratio of -5.65 and a beta of 1.11. Compass Minerals International has a 12 month low of $7.51 and a 12 month high of $20.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.37, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a current ratio of 1.84.

Compass Minerals International (NYSE:CMP - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The basic materials company reported $0.63 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.39 by $0.24. Compass Minerals International had a negative net margin of 12.15% and a negative return on equity of 24.24%. The business had revenue of $494.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $413.96 million. The company's quarterly revenue was up 35.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Compass Minerals International will post -0.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Compass Minerals International

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Koch Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Compass Minerals International during the fourth quarter valued at $79,139,000. Net Worth Advisory Group purchased a new stake in shares of Compass Minerals International during the first quarter valued at $178,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its holdings in shares of Compass Minerals International by 44.1% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 18,111 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $204,000 after purchasing an additional 5,544 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Compass Minerals International by 18.5% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 105,915 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,192,000 after purchasing an additional 16,558 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Compass Minerals International by 361.4% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,812 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 3,769 shares during the last quarter. 99.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.