Irenic Capital Management LP Invests $33.52 Million in Compass Minerals International, Inc. $CMP

Irenic Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Compass Minerals International, Inc. (NYSE:CMP) during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 1,435,529 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $33,520,000. Compass Minerals International accounts for 2.2% of Irenic Capital Management LP’s portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest position.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. SailingStone Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in Compass Minerals International by 6.1% in the 4th quarter. SailingStone Capital Partners LLC now owns 5,414,067 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $106,332,000 after purchasing an additional 308,957 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Compass Minerals International by 14.7% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,775,116 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $53,282,000 after purchasing an additional 354,960 shares during the period. Engine Capital Management LP raised its stake in shares of Compass Minerals International by 275.4% in the 1st quarter. Engine Capital Management LP now owns 1,439,065 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $33,602,000 after purchasing an additional 1,055,740 shares during the period. Ewing Morris & Co. Investment Partners Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Compass Minerals International by 201.7% in the second quarter. Ewing Morris & Co. Investment Partners Ltd. now owns 1,280,648 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $25,728,000 after purchasing an additional 856,149 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gumshoe Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Compass Minerals International in the fourth quarter valued at about $24,842,000. 99.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Compass Point set a $30.00 price objective on Compass Minerals International in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Compass Minerals International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday. Zacks Research downgraded Compass Minerals International from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $35.00 price objective on shares of Compass Minerals International in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Compass Minerals International from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $20.00 to $30.00 in a report on Thursday, May 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Compass Minerals International has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $28.80.

Compass Minerals International Stock Performance

CMP opened at $29.78 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $30.29 and its 200 day simple moving average is $26.59. Compass Minerals International, Inc. has a 52-week low of $16.40 and a 52-week high of $34.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.60, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 2.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.25 billion, a PE ratio of 198.51 and a beta of 1.24.

Compass Minerals International (NYSE:CMP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The basic materials company reported $0.63 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.59 by $0.04. Compass Minerals International had a return on equity of 8.99% and a net margin of 0.55%.The firm had revenue of $453.20 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $418.97 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.63 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Compass Minerals International, Inc. will post 0.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Compass Minerals International Profile

Compass Minerals International, Inc is a global producer of essential mineral-based products, primarily known for its salt and plant nutrition portfolios. The company’s deicing salts are used by municipalities and commercial customers across North America to maintain safer roadways in winter months. In addition, its water conditioning salts serve both residential and industrial users, supporting water treatment systems that remove hard minerals to protect plumbing and equipment.

Beyond conventional salt products, Compass Minerals has developed a specialty plant nutrition business focused on sulfate of potash (SOP), a premium fertilizer that provides both potassium and sulfur to crops.