Compass Minerals International (NYSE:CMP) Shares Gap Down Following Weak Earnings

Shares of Compass Minerals International, Inc. (NYSE:CMP) gapped down before the market opened on Tuesday following a dissappointing earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $12.12, but opened at $11.50. Compass Minerals International shares last traded at $11.83, with a volume of 39,776 shares trading hands.

The basic materials company reported ($0.55) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.05) by ($0.50). Compass Minerals International had a negative net margin of 19.24% and a negative return on equity of 2.15%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on shares of Compass Minerals International from $20.00 to $18.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 18th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Compass Minerals International

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of CMP. Koss Olinger Consulting LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Compass Minerals International during the fourth quarter worth $263,000. Intech Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Compass Minerals International during the 4th quarter worth about $187,000. Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Compass Minerals International during the 4th quarter valued at about $744,000. Royce & Associates LP lifted its holdings in shares of Compass Minerals International by 66.6% during the 4th quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 112,609 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,267,000 after buying an additional 45,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ironwood Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Compass Minerals International by 6.2% in the 4th quarter. Ironwood Investment Management LLC now owns 29,842 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $336,000 after buying an additional 1,738 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.78% of the company’s stock.

Compass Minerals International Stock Down 4.9 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.87, a current ratio of 2.71 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The stock has a market cap of $478.15 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.21, a P/E/G ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.21. The business has a fifty day moving average of $12.39 and a 200 day moving average of $12.00.

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.