Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC Cuts Position in Compass Minerals International, Inc. (NYSE:CMP)

Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC lowered its stake in shares of Compass Minerals International, Inc. (NYSE:CMP - Free Report) by 9.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 256,085 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 26,770 shares during the period. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC owned about 0.62% of Compass Minerals International worth $2,881,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Ballentine Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Compass Minerals International by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 21,559 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $243,000 after purchasing an additional 748 shares in the last quarter. Denver PWM LLC increased its stake in shares of Compass Minerals International by 25.8% in the 4th quarter. Denver PWM LLC now owns 4,712 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 967 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in shares of Compass Minerals International by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 38,063 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $429,000 after purchasing an additional 983 shares in the last quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Compass Minerals International by 7.0% in the 4th quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 20,540 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $231,000 after purchasing an additional 1,340 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ironwood Investment Management LLC increased 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 purchasing an additional 1,738 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.78% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CMP has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Compass Minerals International from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $13.00 to $15.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Compass Minerals International from $15.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Compass Minerals International from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th.

Compass Minerals International Price Performance

Shares of Compass Minerals International stock traded down $0.39 on Friday, hitting $19.11. 313,280 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 809,787. The stock has a market capitalization of $793.14 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.84 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $11.95 and a 200 day moving average price of $12.30. Compass Minerals International, Inc. has a 1-year low of $7.51 and a 1-year high of $20.17. The company has a quick ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 2.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.67.

Compass Minerals International (NYSE:CMP - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The basic materials company reported $0.63 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.39 by $0.24. The business had revenue of $494.60 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $413.96 million. Compass Minerals International had a negative return on equity of 10.00% and a negative net margin of 15.10%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 35.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Compass Minerals International, Inc. will post -0.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.