Compass Minerals International, Inc. (NYSE:CMP) Short Interest Update

Compass Minerals International, Inc. (NYSE:CMP) saw a large growth in short interest in July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totalling 4,940,000 shares, a growth of 7.9% from the June 30th total of 4,580,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 729,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 6.8 days.

Compass Minerals International Price Performance

Compass Minerals International stock traded down $0.62 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $12.68. 71,134 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 705,644. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.25, a current ratio of 2.98 and a quick ratio of 1.15. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $11.91 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $15.72. The company has a market capitalization of $524.06 million, a P/E ratio of -6.36, a PEG ratio of 0.57 and a beta of 1.13. Compass Minerals International has a 12-month low of $9.76 and a 12-month high of $39.78.

Compass Minerals International (NYSE:CMP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 7th. The basic materials company reported $1.49 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.23 by $1.26. The company had revenue of $364.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $386.97 million. Compass Minerals International had a positive return on equity of 22.03% and a negative net margin of 7.47%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 11.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.46) earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Compass Minerals International will post 0.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Loop Capital upgraded Compass Minerals International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $26.00 to $23.00 in a research note on Friday, April 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $31.00.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. First Eagle Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Compass Minerals International during the first quarter worth about $1,908,000. Morningstar Investment Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Compass Minerals International by 89.2% during the fourth quarter. Morningstar Investment Services LLC now owns 1,352,718 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $35,333,000 after purchasing an additional 637,883 shares in the last quarter. Yost Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Compass Minerals International during the fourth quarter worth about $4,583,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Compass Minerals International during the fourth quarter worth about $5,039,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in shares of Compass Minerals International by 16.1% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 140,097 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $3,547,000 after acquiring an additional 19,455 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.78% of the company’s stock.

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.