Compass Minerals International, Inc. (NYSE:CMP) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Compass Minerals International, Inc. (NYSE:CMP) saw a large increase in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 3,160,000 shares, an increase of 16.6% from the March 15th total of 2,710,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 723,400 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.4 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CMP has been the subject of several research reports. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on Compass Minerals International from $75.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 11th. Loop Capital downgraded Compass Minerals International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $29.00 to $26.00 in a report on Monday, March 4th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on Compass Minerals International from $25.00 to $20.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Compass Minerals International from $24.00 to $21.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $34.40.

Compass Minerals International Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CMP traded down $0.12 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $13.61. The company had a trading volume of 512,427 shares, compared to its average volume of 708,794. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.98, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 3.07. Compass Minerals International has a one year low of $13.10 and a one year high of $39.78. The firm has a market cap of $562.02 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -9.32, a PEG ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 1.13. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $18.84 and its 200 day simple moving average is $22.51.

Compass Minerals International (NYSE:CMP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The basic materials company reported $0.05 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 company had revenue of $341.70 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $352.84 million. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Compass Minerals International will post 0.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Compass Minerals International Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 20th. Investors of record on Monday, March 11th were given a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 8th. Compass Minerals International’s payout ratio is currently -41.10%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Joseph E. Reece acquired 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 22nd. The stock was bought at an average price of $21.24 per share, with a total value of $106,200.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 16,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $339,840. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 1.52% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Private Advisor Group LLC increased its position in shares of Compass Minerals International by 2.7% in the first quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 10,615 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $667,000 after purchasing an additional 284 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its position in Compass Minerals International by 3.6% in the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 8,742 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $300,000 after acquiring an additional 304 shares during the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio grew its position in Compass Minerals International by 10.5% in the third quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 3,275 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $126,000 after acquiring an additional 311 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. grew its position in 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 valued at $1,141,000 after acquiring an additional 410 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CarsonAllaria Wealth Management Ltd. grew its position in Compass Minerals International by 12.9% in the fourth quarter. CarsonAllaria Wealth Management Ltd. now owns 4,235 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $107,000 after acquiring an additional 484 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.78% of the company’s stock.

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.