Compass Minerals International (NYSE:CMP) Upgraded by Wall Street Zen to "Buy" Rating

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded Compass Minerals International from Hold to Buy, adding to a mixed analyst picture that still leaves the stock at an overall consensus Hold rating.
• The company recently beat quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $0.63 EPS versus the $0.59 estimate and revenue of $453.2 million, though sales were still down 8.4% year over year.
• Compass Minerals shares opened at $29.42, near the stock’s one-year high of $34.50, while institutional ownership remains very high at 99.78%.

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

A number of other brokerages have also recently issued reports on CMP. Compass Point set a $30.00 target price on shares of Compass Minerals International in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Compass Minerals International from a "sell (d)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. Zacks Research cut shares of Compass Minerals International from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $35.00 price objective on shares of Compass Minerals International in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Compass Minerals International from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $20.00 to $30.00 in a report on Thursday, May 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $28.80.

Compass Minerals International Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CMP opened at $29.42 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $1.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 196.11 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a current ratio of 2.06, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.60. Compass Minerals International has a 1-year low of $16.40 and a 1-year high of $34.50. The business's 50 day moving average is $30.24 and its 200-day moving average is $26.45.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $0.59 by $0.04. Compass Minerals International had a return on equity of 8.99% and a net margin of 0.55%.The business had revenue of $453.20 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $418.97 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.63 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Compass Minerals International will post 0.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CMP. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its stake in Compass Minerals International by 10.5% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 49,928 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $464,000 after buying an additional 4,740 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its stake in Compass Minerals International by 4.3% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 20,665 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $192,000 after acquiring an additional 858 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in Compass Minerals International by 16.1% during the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 191,626 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $3,850,000 after acquiring an additional 26,531 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its holdings in shares of Compass Minerals International by 15.4% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 39,625 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $796,000 after acquiring an additional 5,292 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Prudential Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Compass Minerals International in the second quarter worth about $267,000. 99.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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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