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

Compass Minerals International, Inc. (NYSE:CMP) was the target of a large decrease in short interest in the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 3,120,000 shares, a decrease of 8.0% from the October 15th total of 3,390,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,020,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.1 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $20.00 target price on shares of Compass Minerals International in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Compass Minerals International to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $31.00.

Compass Minerals International Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of Compass Minerals International stock traded up $0.20 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $14.75. 1,261,357 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 825,442. The firm has a market cap of $611.39 million, a PE ratio of -3.60 and a beta of 1.10. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $12.06 and its 200 day moving average is $11.66. Compass Minerals International has a 1 year low of $7.51 and a 1 year high of $27.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.47, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 2.90.

Compass Minerals International (NYSE:CMP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, September 17th. The basic materials company reported ($1.01) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.67) by ($0.34). Compass Minerals International had a negative net margin of 14.81% and a positive return on equity of 4.75%. The company had revenue of $202.90 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $201.86 million. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Compass Minerals International will post 0.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Compass Minerals International by 3.6% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,579,361 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $72,079,000 after purchasing an additional 160,632 shares in the last quarter. Invenomic Capital Management LP boosted its position in shares of Compass Minerals International by 23.9% during the 3rd quarter. Invenomic Capital Management LP now owns 969,085 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $11,648,000 after acquiring an additional 186,717 shares in the last quarter. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC raised its position in shares of Compass Minerals International by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC now owns 860,796 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $8,892,000 after acquiring an additional 2,167 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Compass Minerals International by 0.8% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 782,811 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $9,412,000 after purchasing an additional 6,062 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can lifted its position in shares of Compass Minerals International by 127.5% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 525,097 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $6,506,000 after buying an additional 294,333 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.