Compass Minerals International (NYSE:CMP) Trading Down 3.9% - Time to Sell?

Key Points

• Compass Minerals International's stock price has decreased by 3.9%, dropping to $18.46 from a previous close of $19.21.
• Analysts have mixed views, with Deutsche Bank maintaining a "buy" rating and increasing its price target to $22.00, while JPMorgan downgraded the company to "underweight" with a target of $18.00.
• The company recently reported a loss of ($0.39) EPS for the quarter, falling short of the consensus estimate of (0.13), despite a revenue increase of 5.8% year-over-year.

Shares of Compass Minerals International, Inc. (NYSE:CMP - Get Free Report) traded down 3.9% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $18.05 and last traded at $18.46. 151,318 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 77% from the average session volume of 660,071 shares. The stock had previously closed at $19.21.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a "buy" rating and issued a $22.00 price target (up from $14.00) on shares of Compass Minerals International in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Wall Street Zen downgraded Compass Minerals International from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, June 27th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Compass Minerals International from $15.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded Compass Minerals International from an "overweight" rating to an "underweight" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $15.00 to $18.00 in a research report on Wednesday.

Compass Minerals International Stock Up 0.8%

The company has a 50-day moving average price of $20.57 and a 200 day moving average price of $15.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $803.44 million, a PE ratio of -6.63 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.37, a current ratio of 1.84 and a quick ratio of 1.12.

Compass Minerals International (NYSE:CMP - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, August 11th. The basic materials company reported ($0.39) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.13) by ($0.26). The firm had revenue of $214.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $208.60 million. Compass Minerals International had a negative return on equity of 16.36% and a negative net margin of 9.87%. Compass Minerals International's quarterly revenue was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted ($1.05) earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Compass Minerals International, Inc. will post -0.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Compass Minerals International

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in CMP. CWM LLC increased its stake in Compass Minerals International by 95.0% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,363 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 664 shares during the last quarter. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey grew its stake in shares of Compass Minerals International by 11.2% during the second quarter. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey now owns 7,863 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $158,000 after buying an additional 791 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Compass Minerals International by 4.3% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 20,665 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $192,000 after buying an additional 858 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in shares of Compass Minerals International by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 38,063 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $429,000 after buying an additional 983 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio grew its stake in shares of Compass Minerals International by 37.6% during the second quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 3,967 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $80,000 after buying an additional 1,084 shares during the last quarter. 99.78% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.

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