Compass Minerals International (NYSE:CMP) Shares Gap Up to $12.62

Compass Minerals International, Inc. (NYSE:CMP)’s share price gapped up before the market opened on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $12.62, but opened at $13.73. Compass Minerals International shares last traded at $13.71, with a volume of 110,479 shares.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on CMP. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on Compass Minerals International from $25.00 to $20.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Compass Minerals International from $24.00 to $21.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 9th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on shares of Compass Minerals International from $75.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 11th. Finally, Loop Capital raised shares of Compass Minerals International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $26.00 to $23.00 in a research report on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $33.80.

Compass Minerals International Stock Up 3.0 %

The company’s 50-day moving average is $17.64 and its 200 day moving average is $21.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $537.03 million, a PE ratio of -9.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a current ratio of 3.07, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.98.

Compass Minerals International (NYSE:CMP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The basic materials company reported $0.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.24 by ($0.19). Compass Minerals International had a positive return on equity of 4.56% and a negative net margin of 4.97%. The company had revenue of $341.70 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $352.84 million. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Compass Minerals International, Inc. will post 0.11 EPS for the current year.

Compass Minerals International Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 11th were paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 8th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.62%. Compass Minerals International’s payout ratio is presently -41.10%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of CMP. Morningstar Investment Services LLC increased its holdings in Compass Minerals International by 89.2% in the 4th quarter. Morningstar Investment Services LLC now owns 1,352,718 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $35,333,000 after buying an additional 637,883 shares during the period. Magnolia Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Compass Minerals International by 105.8% in the 4th quarter. Magnolia Group LLC now owns 849,490 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $21,509,000 after acquiring an additional 436,660 shares during the last quarter. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Compass Minerals International in the fourth quarter worth $5,039,000. Shapiro Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Compass Minerals International by 17.9% during the third quarter. Shapiro Capital Management LLC now owns 1,278,722 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $35,740,000 after purchasing an additional 193,725 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Yost Capital Management LP acquired a new position in Compass Minerals International during the fourth quarter valued at $4,583,000. 99.78% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.