Short Interest in Compass Minerals International, Inc. (NYSE:CMP) Expands By 10.1%

Compass Minerals International, Inc. (NYSE:CMP) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,480,000 shares, an increase of 10.1% from the March 31st total of 3,160,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 688,900 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 5.1 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on CMP shares. Loop Capital upgraded Compass Minerals International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and cut their target price for the company from $26.00 to $23.00 in a research report on Friday. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on shares of Compass Minerals International from $25.00 to $20.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Compass Minerals International from $24.00 to $21.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 9th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of Compass Minerals International from $75.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Compass Minerals International currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $33.80.

Compass Minerals International Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CMP opened at $13.34 on Tuesday. Compass Minerals International has a twelve month low of $11.85 and a twelve month high of $39.78. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $17.26 and its 200-day moving average is $21.63. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 3.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $551.08 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -9.14, a PEG ratio of 4.08 and a beta of 1.13.

Compass Minerals International (NYSE:CMP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 7th. The basic materials company reported $0.05 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.24 by ($0.19). The business had revenue of $341.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $352.84 million. Compass Minerals International had a positive return on equity of 4.56% and a negative net margin of 4.97%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Compass Minerals International will post 0.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Compass Minerals International Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 11th were paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 8th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.50%. Compass Minerals International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -41.10%.

Institutional Trading of Compass Minerals International

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Morningstar Investment Services LLC grew its holdings in Compass Minerals International by 89.2% during the fourth quarter. Morningstar Investment Services LLC now owns 1,352,718 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $35,333,000 after buying an additional 637,883 shares in the last quarter. Magnolia Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Compass Minerals International by 105.8% in the 4th quarter. Magnolia Group LLC now owns 849,490 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $21,509,000 after acquiring an additional 436,660 shares in the last quarter. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Compass Minerals International in the fourth quarter valued at about $5,039,000. Shapiro Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Compass Minerals International by 17.9% during the third quarter. Shapiro Capital Management LLC now owns 1,278,722 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $35,740,000 after purchasing an additional 193,725 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Yost Capital Management LP purchased a new position in Compass Minerals International during the fourth quarter worth about $4,583,000. 99.78% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Compass Minerals International

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.