Compass Minerals International, Inc. (NYSE:CMP) Stock Rated "Reduce" by Wall Street Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts give Compass Minerals a consensus “Reduce” rating: Of five analysts, two rate the stock sell, two hold, and one buy; the average 12-month price target is $27.
• In its latest reported quarter, the company posted an EPS loss of $0.14, missing estimates of a $0.06 loss, while revenue of $215.3 million exceeded expectations of $207.75 million.
• Institutional investors own 99.78% of the stock, and several increased their holdings, including Bank of America and Dimensional Fund Advisors.

Shares of Compass Minerals International, Inc. (NYSE:CMP - Get Free Report) have earned a consensus rating of "Reduce" from the five analysts that are covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $27.00.

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut Compass Minerals International from a "neutral" rating to an "underweight" rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $30.00 to $27.00 in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Compass Minerals International from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, August 2nd. Weiss Ratings raised Compass Minerals International from a "sell (d)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a report on Friday, August 28th. Compass Point set a $27.00 price target on Compass Minerals International in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their target price on Compass Minerals International from $35.00 to $32.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 31st.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Compass Minerals International

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of CMP. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Compass Minerals International by 18.2% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 913,683 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $21,333,000 after purchasing an additional 140,918 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its position in Compass Minerals International by 994.4% during the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 172,911 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $4,037,000 after acquiring an additional 157,111 shares during the last quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Compass Minerals International during the 2nd quarter worth $10,755,000. Irenic Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Compass Minerals International during the 1st quarter worth $33,520,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE lifted its position in Compass Minerals International by 692.8% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,253,045 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $29,259,000 after acquiring an additional 1,094,987 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.78% of the company's stock.

Compass Minerals International Stock Performance

Shares of Compass Minerals International stock opened at $22.89 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $960.80 million, a P/E ratio of 53.23 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.72, a current ratio of 2.01 and a quick ratio of 0.98. Compass Minerals International has a fifty-two week low of $16.40 and a fifty-two week high of $34.50. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $23.22 and a 200 day simple moving average of $25.90.

Compass Minerals International (NYSE:CMP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The basic materials company reported ($0.14) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.06) by ($0.08). The company had revenue of $215.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $207.75 million. Compass Minerals International had a return on equity of 12.75% and a net margin of 1.42%. Compass Minerals International's revenue for the quarter was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned ($0.39) earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Compass Minerals International will post 0.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Compass Minerals International

Compass Minerals International, Inc NYSE: CMP is a producer of essential minerals used in transportation, agriculture, water treatment, and industrial applications. The company primarily operates through its Salt and Plant Nutrition businesses.

Its Salt business produces and distributes highway deicing salt, rock salt, evaporated salt, solar salt, magnesium chloride, and calcium chloride. These products are sold to government agencies, commercial customers, industrial users, and consumers for roadway safety, water treatment, food processing, and other applications.

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