Assetmark Inc. Cuts Stake in Compass Minerals International, Inc. $CMP

Key Points

• Assetmark Inc. cut its stake in Compass Minerals by 58.4%, selling 62,811 shares and retaining 44,763 shares valued at about $879,000, while institutional investors collectively own 99.78% of the stock.
• Strong quarterly results: Compass reported $0.43 EPS vs. $0.11 expected and revenue of $396.1M (up 28.9% YoY), and its shares traded up ~5.5% to $26.96 near a 52-week high, though the company still shows a negative net margin and a negative PE.
• Mixed analyst sentiment: the consensus is a "Hold" with an average target of $22, but recent calls range from upgrades (BMO raised its PT to $25; Zacks to "strong-buy") to a reiteration of a "sell (d-)" from Weiss Ratings.

Assetmark Inc. lessened its holdings in Compass Minerals International, Inc. (NYSE:CMP - Free Report) by 58.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 44,763 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 62,811 shares during the quarter. Assetmark Inc. owned 0.11% of Compass Minerals International worth $879,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. State of Alaska Department of Revenue bought a new position in shares of Compass Minerals International during the third quarter valued at about $31,000. New York State Teachers Retirement System bought a new position in Compass Minerals International during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $60,000. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in Compass Minerals International in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $83,000. Vestcor Inc purchased a new stake in Compass Minerals International in the third quarter worth $158,000. Finally, State of Wyoming purchased a new stake in Compass Minerals International in the third quarter worth $176,000. 99.78% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on CMP shares. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Compass Minerals International from $20.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Compass Minerals International from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Loop Capital set a $24.00 price objective on Compass Minerals International in a research report on Tuesday, December 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Compass Minerals International in a report on Monday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $22.00.

Compass Minerals International Trading Up 5.5%

Shares of NYSE CMP opened at $26.96 on Thursday. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $23.88 and its 200-day moving average price is $21.42. Compass Minerals International, Inc. has a 52-week low of $11.85 and a 52-week high of $27.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.39, a quick ratio of 1.53 and a current ratio of 2.59. The company has a market cap of $1.13 billion, a PE ratio of -29.31 and a beta of 1.16.

Compass Minerals International (NYSE:CMP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 4th. The basic materials company reported $0.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.11 by $0.32. The business had revenue of $396.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $329.23 million. Compass Minerals International had a positive return on equity of 8.69% and a negative net margin of 2.82%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 28.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.55) EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Compass Minerals International, Inc. will post 0.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Compass Minerals International Profile

Compass Minerals International, Inc is a global producer of essential mineral-based products, primarily known for its salt and plant nutrition portfolios. The company's deicing salts are used by municipalities and commercial customers across North America to maintain safer roadways in winter months. In addition, its water conditioning salts serve both residential and industrial users, supporting water treatment systems that remove hard minerals to protect plumbing and equipment.

Beyond conventional salt products, Compass Minerals has developed a specialty plant nutrition business focused on sulfate of potash (SOP), a premium fertilizer that provides both potassium and sulfur to crops.

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