Ewing Morris & Co. Investment Partners Ltd. Sells 1,443,527 Shares of Compass Minerals International, Inc. $CMP

Key Points

• Ewing Morris & Co. cut its Compass Minerals position by 71.7%, selling 1.44 million shares in the second quarter and retaining 570,800 shares valued at approximately $17.8 million. Institutional investors collectively own 99.78% of CMP.
• Analyst sentiment is cautious: Compass Minerals has an average “Reduce” rating and a consensus price target of $27, with recent target cuts from JPMorgan and Deutsche Bank.
• CMP reported quarterly EPS of -$0.14, missing estimates of -$0.06, while revenue reached $215.3 million and rose 0.3% year over year. The stock opened at $25.55, up 4.6%, but remains below its 50-day moving average.

Ewing Morris & Co. Investment Partners Ltd. reduced its position in shares of Compass Minerals International, Inc. (NYSE:CMP - Free Report) by 71.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 570,800 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 1,443,527 shares during the period. Compass Minerals International comprises approximately 9.2% of Ewing Morris & Co. Investment Partners Ltd.'s portfolio, making the stock its largest position. Ewing Morris & Co. Investment Partners Ltd. owned approximately 1.36% of Compass Minerals International worth $17,769,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of CMP. Martingale Asset Management L P increased its holdings in Compass Minerals International by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P now owns 36,832 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $723,000 after buying an additional 606 shares during the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP lifted its holdings in Compass Minerals International by 5.2% during the 1st quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 13,670 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $319,000 after buying an additional 674 shares during the last quarter. Comerica Bank lifted its holdings in Compass Minerals International by 80.0% during the 4th quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 1,868 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 830 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Compass Minerals International by 4.3% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 20,665 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $192,000 after acquiring an additional 858 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Compass Minerals International by 94.4% during the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 2,216 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $52,000 after acquiring an additional 1,076 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.78% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued an "underweight" rating and set a $27.00 target price (down from $30.00) on shares of Compass Minerals International in a research report on Monday, August 10th. 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. Compass Point set a $27.00 price objective on shares of Compass Minerals International in a research report on Monday, August 10th. 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. Finally, 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $27.00.

Compass Minerals International Stock Up 4.6%

Compass Minerals International stock opened at $25.55 on Thursday. Compass Minerals International, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $16.40 and a fifty-two week high of $34.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.72, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 2.01. The company has a market capitalization of $1.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 59.42 and a beta of 1.22. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $28.10 and a 200-day simple moving average of $27.07.

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

About Compass Minerals International

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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