Compass Minerals International, Inc. (NYSE:CMP) Short Interest Down 9.1% in January

Compass Minerals International, Inc. (NYSE:CMP) was the target of a significant decline in short interest in January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 2,000,000 shares, a decline of 9.1% from the January 15th total of 2,200,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 749,900 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.7 days.

Compass Minerals International Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CMP opened at $11.87 on Wednesday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $12.12 and its 200-day simple moving average is $11.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $492.17 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.87, a current ratio of 2.71 and a quick ratio of 0.80. Compass Minerals International has a 12 month low of $7.51 and a 12 month high of $23.59.

Compass Minerals International (NYSE:CMP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The basic materials company reported ($0.55) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.05) by ($0.50). Compass Minerals International had a negative return on equity of 2.15% and a negative net margin of 19.24%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Compass Minerals International will post 0.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on CMP. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Compass Minerals International from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $13.00 to $15.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on Compass Minerals International from $18.00 to $17.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Compass Minerals International from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Compass Minerals International

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in shares of Compass Minerals International by 18.5% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 105,915 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,192,000 after buying an additional 16,558 shares in the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC boosted its holdings in Compass Minerals International by 206.4% in the fourth quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 118,287 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,331,000 after purchasing an additional 79,681 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP lifted its holdings in Compass Minerals International by 27.0% during the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 86,090 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $969,000 after buying an additional 18,326 shares during the last quarter. SailingStone Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Compass Minerals International by 13.7% during the 4th quarter. SailingStone Capital Partners LLC now owns 5,427,142 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $61,055,000 after buying an additional 652,129 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Shay Capital LLC bought a new position in Compass Minerals International during the 4th quarter worth approximately $330,000. 99.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.