Swiss National Bank Cuts Position in Compass Minerals International, Inc. (NYSE:CMP)

Swiss National Bank trimmed its position in Compass Minerals International, Inc. (NYSE:CMP) by 8.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 75,250 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 7,200 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank owned 0.18% of Compass Minerals International worth $2,580,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of CMP. BlackRock Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Compass Minerals International by 43.0% in the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 5,518,500 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $346,506,000 after purchasing an additional 1,660,353 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Compass Minerals International by 38.9% in the 1st quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,603,210 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $163,456,000 after purchasing an additional 728,597 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Compass Minerals International by 11.0% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,817,935 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $239,729,000 after purchasing an additional 379,107 shares during the period. Knightsbridge Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Compass Minerals International in the 4th quarter worth about $11,146,000. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Compass Minerals International during the 4th quarter valued at about $10,009,000. 92.79% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. StockNews.com assumed coverage on Compass Minerals International in a report on Thursday, August 17th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Compass Minerals International from $81.00 to $82.00 in a report on Thursday, May 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their target price on Compass Minerals International from $50.00 to $45.00 in a report on Monday, May 22nd. BTIG Research assumed coverage on Compass Minerals International in a report on Wednesday, July 19th. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock. Finally, Loop Capital assumed coverage on Compass Minerals International in a report on Monday, July 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $58.00 price objective on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Compass Minerals International currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $58.00.

Compass Minerals International Price Performance

CMP stock opened at $30.63 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 2.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33. Compass Minerals International, Inc. has a 52-week low of $28.86 and a 52-week high of $47.68. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $33.84 and its two-hundred day moving average is $33.96. The company has a market capitalization of $1.26 billion, a PE ratio of 139.23, a P/E/G ratio of 5.47 and a beta of 1.39.

Compass Minerals International (NYSE:CMP) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 8th. The basic materials company reported $1.01 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.16) by $1.17. The company had revenue of $207.60 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $211.21 million. Compass Minerals International had a return on equity of 5.28% and a net margin of 0.91%. The business’s revenue was down 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned ($0.16) EPS. Analysts predict that Compass Minerals International, Inc. will post 0.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Compass Minerals International Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 11th will be given a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 8th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.96%. Compass Minerals International’s payout ratio is 272.73%.

Compass Minerals International Profile

Compass Minerals International, Inc, produces and sells essential minerals primarily 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.