Arch Coal (ACI) (AEP) (AGU) (CF) (CLF) (CMP) Price Targets Changed

Arch Coal, Inc. (NYSE: ACI), American Electric Power (NYSE: AEP), Agrium Inc. (USA) (NYSE: AGU), CF Industries Holdings Inc (NYSE: CF), Cliffs Natural Resources Inc (NYSE: CLF) and Compass Minerals International, Inc. (NYSE: CMP) price targets adjusted by analysts.

Arch Coal, Inc. (ACI) had its price target lowered by Brean Murray from $43.00 to $39.00. They have a “Buy” rating on the company.

American Electric Power (AEP) had its price target cut by Jefferies to $39.00.

Agrium Inc. (AGU) had its price target boosted by Chardan Capital Markets from $87.00to $92.00.

CF Industries Holdings (CF) had its price target raised by Chardan Capital Markets from $155.00 to $175.00.

Cliffs Natural Resources (CLF) had its price target lowered by FBR Capital from $144.00 to $140.00. They have an “Outperform” rating on the company.

Compass Minerals International, Inc. (CMP) had its price target lowered by JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) to $83.00.

Dividends on (PROV) (GRIF) (CMP) (WIRE) (BAM) Declared

Provident Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:PROV), Griffin Land & Nurseries Inc (NASDAQ:GRIF), Compass Minerals International Inc (NYSE:CMP), Encore Wire Corp (NASDAQ:WIRE) and Brookfield Asset Management Inc. (NYSE:BAM) declare dividends.

The Board of Directors of Provident Financial Holdings Inc. (PROV) declared a quarterly common stock dividend of $0.01 per share payable 6/24/11 to shareholders of record at the close of business on 5/27/11.

The Board of Directors of Griffin Land & Nurseries Inc (GRIF) declared a quarterly common stock dividend of $0.10 per share payable 6/2/11 to shareholders of record at the close of business on 5/26/11.

The Board of Directors of Compass Minerals International Inc (CMP) declared a quarterly common stock dividend of $0.45 per share payable 6/15/11 to shareholders of record at the close of business on 6/1/11.

The Board of Directors of Encore Wire Corp (WIRE) declared a quarterly common stock dividend of $0.02 per share payable 7/15/11 to shareholders of record at the close of business on 7/1/11.

The Board of Directors of Brookfield Asset Management Inc. (BAM) declared a quarterly common stock dividend of $0.13 per share payable 8/31/11 to shareholders of record at the close of business on 8/1/11.

Ratings on (BRE) (CHD) (CMP) (CNL) (EVR) Reiterated by Analysts Today

Analysts reiterated their ratings on Bre Properties Inc. (NYSE: BRE), Church & Dwight Co Inc (NYSE: CHD), Compass Minerals International, Inc. (NYSE: CMP), Cleco Co. (NYSE: CNL) and Evercore Partners Inc. (NYSE: EVR) today.

Keefe, Bruyette & Woods, Inc reiterated an “outperform” rating on Bre Properties Inc. (BRE).

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) reiterated an “equal weight” rating on Church & Dwight Co Inc (CHD).

Deutsche Bank (NYSE:DB) reiterated a “hold” rating on Compass Minerals International, Inc. (CMP).

Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Cleco Co. (CNL).

Evercore Partners reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Cleco Co. (CNL). They have a price target of $43 on the company.

Potash (POT) (CMP) (MOS) (SYT) Trade Down as Wheat, Soybeans Prices Plunge

Fertilizer companies Compass Minerals (NYSE:CMP), Mosaic (NYSE:MOS), Syngenta (NYSE:SYT), Potash Corp (NYSE:POT) were under pressure Wednesday as wheat and soybean prices plummeted. Corn prices were able to generate a gain on the day.

In July agriculture contracts, wheat was down 21.25 cents to settle at $7.72 a bushel. Soybeans dropped 11.75 cents to settle at $13.52 a bushel.

Corn climbed 5.75 cents to settle at $7.295 a bushel.

Wheat and corn are expected to jump by about 5 cents to 10 cents over the next couple of days.

Companies supplying fertilizer will usually move in unison with the direction crop prices are going, as it is an indicator of the level farmers will spend on inputs.

Potash closed Wednesday at $53.42, falling $0.77, or 1.42 percent.

Potash (POT) (SYT) (MOS) (CMP) Driven up by wheat, Corn Profits

Wheat and corn prices continue to drive the profits of farmers up, resulting in capex from them toward companies like Potash Corp (NYSE:POT), Syngenta (NYSE:SYT), Mosaic (NYSE:MOS) and Compass Minerals (NYSE:CMP).

How quickly the griping from farmers has subsided since the worst of the recession when they were complaining about high input costs.

The U.S. will control 28 percent of global wheat exports in 2011, an increase from 18 percent in 2010, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. With prices averaging about $8 a bushel this quarter and the next, the highest levels in three years, farms will earn approximately $94.7 billion, according to analysts’ forecasts compiled by Bloomberg and an estimate from the USDA.

Other considerations for investors to consider is how this will impact shipping. Expectations are shipping lines won't benefit much from the increase in production because the U.S. is replacing lost supply from Russia and Ukraine.

Domestically it could help those companies shipping within borders, as it could offer some major boosts in that regard.

Price Targets on CAVM) (BEN) (CERN) (CMP) (D) Updated

Price targets on Cavium Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ: CAVM), Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE: BEN), Cerner Corp (NASDAQ: CERN), Compass Minerals International, Inc. (NYSE: CMP) and Dominion Resources, Inc. (NYSE: D) were updated today.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) raised their price target on Cavium Networks, Inc. (CAVM) from $50.00 to $55.00. They have an “overweight” rating on the company.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE: BEN) from $134.00 to $135.00.

Deutsche Bank (NYSE:DB) raised their price target on Cerner Corp (CERN) from $107.00 to $116.00. They have a “hold” rating on the company.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Compass Minerals International, Inc. (CMP) from $94.00 to $92.00. They have a “neutral” rating on the company.

Jefferies (NYSE:JEF) raised their price target on Dominion Resources, Inc. (D) from $44.50 to $48.00. They have a “hold” rating on the company.

Compass Minerals (NYSE:CMP) Getting Strong Seasonal Start with Cold December

With ice control being a major part of Compass Minerals (NYSE:CMP) business in the colder months, the cold winter this year should help them in the North American and British markets.

Soleil said, "Old-man-winter. Anecdotal evidence suggests that the '10-'11 winter is off to a strong start for the month of December 2010, in both North America and the U.K. This should boost Compass' ice control earnings, one third of company total...We increase our price target to $100 (from $88), on rolling out our 2012E EPS estimate of $6.91, which is now our out-year forecast...SOP follows MOP. Compass is a price follower in specialty potash, 25% of its earnings, and we assume it attempts to maintain a price premium over MOP of $150-200/short ton. It has announced three SOP price increases during 4Q10E that total to $80/short ton (15%), and should be realized through 1QF11E."

Soleil Securities maintains a "Buy" rating on Compass Minerals International, which was trading at $87.96, down $0.74, or 0.83 percent, as of 12:07 PM EST. Soleil raised their price target on them from $88 to $100.