Nuveen Asset Management LLC Acquires 915,983 Shares of Compass Minerals International, Inc. (NYSE:CMP)

Nuveen Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Compass Minerals International, Inc. (NYSE:CMP - Free Report) by 642.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,058,551 shares of the basic materials company's stock after acquiring an additional 915,983 shares during the period. Nuveen Asset Management LLC owned 2.55% of Compass Minerals International worth $11,909,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Denver PWM LLC boosted its stake in Compass Minerals International by 25.8% during 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 during the period. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new stake in Compass Minerals International during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $80,000. New York State Common Retirement Fund boosted its stake in Compass Minerals International by 35.9% during the 4th quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 7,189 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $81,000 after purchasing an additional 1,900 shares during the period. Corton Capital Inc. bought a new stake in Compass Minerals International during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $127,000. Finally, Freestone Grove Partners LP bought a new stake in Compass Minerals International during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $149,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.78% of the company's stock.

Compass Minerals International Trading Down 1.2%

Shares of NYSE CMP traded down $0.25 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $19.90. The stock had a trading volume of 574,959 shares, compared to its average volume of 819,732. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $13.54 and its 200 day simple moving average is $12.71. The firm has a market cap of $825.93 million, a P/E ratio of -5.04 and a beta of 0.95. Compass Minerals International, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $7.51 and a fifty-two week high of $20.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.67, a current ratio of 2.37 and a quick ratio of 1.12.

Compass Minerals International (NYSE:CMP - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The basic materials company reported $0.63 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.39 by $0.24. Compass Minerals International had a negative return on equity of 10.00% and a negative net margin of 15.10%. The company had revenue of $494.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $413.96 million. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 35.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Compass Minerals International, Inc. will post -0.53 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on CMP. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Compass Minerals International from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $13.00 to $15.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Compass Minerals International from $15.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Compass Minerals International from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd.

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.