Compass Minerals International, Inc. $CMP Shares Sold by Squarepoint Ops LLC

Key Points

• Squarepoint Ops LLC cut its Compass Minerals stake by 81.4% in the second quarter, selling 48,600 shares and retaining 11,113 shares valued at approximately $346,000.
• Institutional ownership remains very high at 99.78%, with several major investors—including Dimensional Fund Advisors, Renaissance Technologies, and Bank of America—substantially increasing their positions.
• Compass Minerals reported a quarterly loss of $0.14 per share, missing estimates by $0.08, while revenue of $215.3 million exceeded forecasts. Analysts maintain a consensus “Reduce” rating with a $27 price target.

Squarepoint Ops LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Compass Minerals International, Inc. (NYSE:CMP - Free Report) by 81.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 11,113 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 48,600 shares during the quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC's holdings in Compass Minerals International were worth $346,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Compass Minerals International by 18.2% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 913,683 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $21,333,000 after acquiring an additional 140,918 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its holdings in Compass Minerals International by 994.4% in the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 172,911 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $4,037,000 after purchasing an additional 157,111 shares in the last quarter. Irenic Capital Management LP purchased a new position in Compass Minerals International in the first quarter valued at approximately $33,520,000. Hennessy Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Compass Minerals International in the second quarter valued at approximately $10,755,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake in Compass Minerals International by 692.8% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,253,045 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $29,259,000 after purchasing an additional 1,094,987 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.78% of the company's stock.

Compass Minerals International Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CMP opened at $23.81 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $999.59 million, a P/E ratio of 55.37 and a beta of 1.22. Compass Minerals International, Inc. has a 52 week low of $16.40 and a 52 week high of $34.50. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $26.58 and a 200 day moving average price of $27.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 2.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.72.

Compass Minerals International (NYSE:CMP - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The basic materials company reported ($0.14) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.06) by ($0.08). Compass Minerals International had a return on equity of 12.75% and a net margin of 1.42%.The firm had revenue of $215.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $207.75 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.39) earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Compass Minerals International, Inc. will post 0.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CMP has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on shares of Compass Minerals International from $35.00 to $32.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 31st. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Compass Minerals International from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, August 2nd. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Compass Minerals International from a "sell (d)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a research note on Friday, August 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued an "underweight" rating and issued a $27.00 price target (down from $30.00) on shares of Compass Minerals International in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Finally, Compass Point set a $27.00 price objective on shares of Compass Minerals International in a research note on Monday, August 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Compass Minerals International currently has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $27.00.

About Compass Minerals International

Compass Minerals International, Inc is a producer of essential minerals serving customers in North America and selected international markets. Headquartered in Overland Park, Kansas, the company operates through two principal businesses: Salt and Plant Nutrition.

The Salt business produces and markets salt for highway deicing, consumer and commercial food use, water conditioning, agriculture, and industrial applications. Compass Minerals operates underground and solar-evaporation facilities, including the Goderich salt mine in Ontario, Canada, and the Cote Blanche mine in Louisiana.

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