Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Makes New $428,000 Investment in Compass Minerals International, Inc. (NYSE:CMP)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new position in Compass Minerals International, Inc. (NYSE:CMP) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 16,900 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $428,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Compass Minerals International in the third quarter worth about $512,000. Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its stake in shares of Compass Minerals International by 22.5% in the third quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 10,946 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $306,000 after buying an additional 2,009 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Compass Minerals International by 1.0% in the third quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 40,819 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,141,000 after buying an additional 410 shares during the period. Inspire Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Compass Minerals International by 16.7% in the third quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 12,295 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $344,000 after buying an additional 1,758 shares during the period. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc raised its stake in shares of Compass Minerals International by 48.2% in the third quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 24,600 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $688,000 after buying an additional 8,000 shares during the period. 99.78% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Compass Minerals International Stock Down 6.7 %

Shares of CMP opened at $12.45 on Wednesday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $17.05 and its 200 day moving average is $21.53. The company has a market capitalization of $514.32 million, a PE ratio of -8.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.08 and a beta of 1.13. Compass Minerals International, Inc. has a 12-month low of $11.85 and a 12-month high of $39.78. 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 released its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $341.70 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $352.84 million. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Compass Minerals International, Inc. will post 0.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Compass Minerals International Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 11th were paid a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 8th. Compass Minerals International’s payout ratio is -41.10%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Compass Minerals International 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.