Compass Minerals International (NYSE:CMP) Reaches New 1-Year High - Time to Buy?

Shares of Compass Minerals International, Inc. (NYSE:CMP - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $21.48 and last traded at $21.12, with a volume of 506548 shares. The stock had previously closed at $20.09.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on CMP shares. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target 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. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Compass Minerals International from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, June 27th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a "buy" rating and set a $22.00 price target (up from $14.00) on shares of Compass Minerals International in a research note on Monday, June 23rd.

Compass Minerals International Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $930.43 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.30 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $18.55 and a 200-day moving average price of $13.74. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The basic materials company reported $0.63 earnings per share (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 firm had revenue of $494.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $413.96 million. The business's quarterly revenue was up 35.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Compass Minerals International, Inc. will post -0.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Compass Minerals International

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of CMP. New York State Common Retirement Fund raised its holdings in Compass Minerals International by 35.9% during the fourth quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 7,189 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $81,000 after acquiring an additional 1,900 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its holdings in shares of Compass Minerals International by 44.1% in the 4th 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 period. Assetmark Inc. lifted its stake in Compass Minerals International by 6,121.5% in the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 30,050 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $338,000 after purchasing an additional 29,567 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Compass Minerals International in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,439,000. Finally, Ironwood Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Compass Minerals International by 6.2% during the fourth quarter. Ironwood Investment Management LLC now owns 29,842 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $336,000 after purchasing an additional 1,738 shares during the period. 99.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Compass Minerals International

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.