Compass Minerals International (NYSE:CMP) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Compass Minerals International (NYSE:CMP) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note released on Wednesday.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Compass Minerals International from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the company from $13.00 to $15.00 in a research note on Wednesday. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on shares of Compass Minerals International from $18.00 to $17.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday.

Compass Minerals International Price Performance

Shares of CMP stock opened at $11.29 on Wednesday. Compass Minerals International has a 52-week low of $7.51 and a 52-week high of $23.59. The stock has a market cap of $468.20 million, a PE ratio of -2.17, a PEG ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.87, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 2.71. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $12.17 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $11.97.

Compass Minerals International (NYSE:CMP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The basic materials company reported ($0.55) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.05) by ($0.50). Compass Minerals International had a negative return on equity of 2.15% and a negative net margin of 19.24%. As a group, analysts forecast that Compass Minerals International will post 0.33 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Compass Minerals International

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Ballentine Partners LLC increased its stake in Compass Minerals International by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 21,559 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $243,000 after purchasing an additional 748 shares in the last quarter. Denver PWM LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Compass Minerals International by 33.8% in the third quarter. Denver PWM LLC now owns 3,745 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 946 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in shares of Compass Minerals International by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 38,063 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $429,000 after acquiring an additional 983 shares in the last quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Compass Minerals International by 7.0% during the fourth quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 20,540 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $231,000 after acquiring an additional 1,340 shares during the period. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC lifted its position in Compass Minerals International by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 38,326 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $461,000 after acquiring an additional 1,437 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.78% of the company’s stock.

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.