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

Compass Minerals International, Inc. (NYSE:CMP) saw a significant growth in short interest during the month of August. As of August 15th, there was short interest totalling 5,250,000 shares, a growth of 5.6% from the July 31st total of 4,970,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 749,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 7.0 days.

Compass Minerals International Stock Down 7.8 %

Shares of NYSE:CMP opened at $8.14 on Wednesday. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $336.43 million, a PE ratio of -3.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.39 and a beta of 1.13. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $10.79 and its two-hundred day moving average is $13.65. Compass Minerals International has a 1 year low of $7.93 and a 1 year high of $30.03.

Institutional Trading of Compass Minerals International

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Compass Minerals International by 3.6% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,579,361 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $72,079,000 after buying an additional 160,632 shares during the period. Morningstar Investment Services LLC increased 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 buying an additional 637,883 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Compass Minerals International by 16.0% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,246,855 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $31,572,000 after buying an additional 172,018 shares during the period. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC boosted its holdings in Compass Minerals International by 0.3% in the second quarter. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC now owns 860,796 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $8,892,000 after purchasing an additional 2,167 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Compass Minerals International by 6.6% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 549,492 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $13,913,000 after purchasing an additional 34,193 shares in the last quarter. 99.78% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, StockNews.com raised shares of Compass Minerals International to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Compass Minerals International currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $31.00.

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.