BMO Capital Markets Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Compass Minerals International (NYSE:CMP) Stock Price

Compass Minerals International (NYSE:CMP) had its price target lowered by stock analysts at BMO Capital Markets from $18.00 to $17.00 in a research note issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “market perform” rating on the basic materials company’s stock. BMO Capital Markets’ target price suggests a potential upside of 47.76% from the company’s current price.

Separately, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Compass Minerals International from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $13.00 to $15.00 in a research report on Wednesday.

Compass Minerals International Price Performance

NYSE CMP opened at $11.51 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.71, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.87. Compass Minerals International has a 12 month low of $7.51 and a 12 month high of $23.59. The stock has a market cap of $477.11 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.21, a PEG ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.21. The company’s 50 day moving average is $12.26 and its two-hundred day moving average is $11.98.

Compass Minerals International (NYSE:CMP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 10th. The basic materials company reported ($0.55) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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, research analysts anticipate that Compass Minerals International will post 0.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Compass Minerals International

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of CMP. Icon Advisers Inc. Co. grew its position in shares of Compass Minerals International by 375.0% during the fourth quarter. Icon Advisers Inc. Co. now owns 475,000 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $5,344,000 after purchasing an additional 375,000 shares in the last quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Compass Minerals International during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $3,533,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Compass Minerals International in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,439,000. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Compass Minerals International by 42.2% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 199,794 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,248,000 after acquiring an additional 59,312 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company MN boosted its position in shares of Compass Minerals International by 24.2% during the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 27,122 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $305,000 after acquiring an additional 5,292 shares during the last quarter. 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.