Compass Minerals International (NYSE:CMP) Upgraded at Zacks Research

Compass Minerals International (NYSE:CMP) was upgraded by investment analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a note issued to investors on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other brokerages have also weighed in on CMP. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Compass Minerals International in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Compass Minerals International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated an “underweight” rating and issued a $18.00 price objective (up from $15.00) on shares of Compass Minerals International in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Compass Minerals International has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $20.00.

Compass Minerals International Stock Up 2.1%

Shares of NYSE:CMP opened at $18.30 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $18.36 and its 200-day moving average is $19.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.30, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 2.15. Compass Minerals International has a 52 week low of $8.60 and a 52 week high of $22.69. The company has a market capitalization of $762.76 million, a PE ratio of -6.27 and a beta of 1.13.

Compass Minerals International (NYSE:CMP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 11th. The basic materials company reported ($0.39) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.13) by ($0.26). Compass Minerals International had a negative net margin of 9.87% and a negative return on equity of 16.70%. The firm had revenue of $214.60 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $208.60 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned ($1.05) earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Compass Minerals International will post -0.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Compass Minerals International

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Ewing Morris & Co. Investment Partners Ltd. grew its holdings in Compass Minerals International by 201.7% during the second quarter. Ewing Morris & Co. Investment Partners Ltd. now owns 1,280,648 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $25,728,000 after purchasing an additional 856,149 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in shares of Compass Minerals International in the 1st quarter valued at $4,279,000. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in Compass Minerals International by 275.5% during the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 581,231 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $5,400,000 after buying an additional 426,458 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Compass Minerals International by 14.7% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,775,116 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $53,282,000 after buying an additional 354,960 shares during the period. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its holdings in Compass Minerals International by 8,417.1% during the third quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 335,061 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $6,433,000 after acquiring an additional 331,127 shares in the last quarter. 99.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.