Compass Minerals International (NYSE:CMP) Stock Price Up 8% – What’s Next?

Shares of Compass Minerals International, Inc. (NYSE:CMP) were up 8% on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $22.49 and last traded at $22.5250. Approximately 57,383 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 79% from the average daily volume of 268,956 shares. The stock had previously closed at $20.85.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on CMP shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Compass Minerals International in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Compass Minerals International from $20.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday. Wall Street Zen raised Compass Minerals International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, December 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on shares of Compass Minerals International from $22.00 to $21.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. Finally, Compass Point set a $22.00 price objective on shares of Compass Minerals International in a report on Tuesday, December 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $22.00.

Compass Minerals International Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.55, a current ratio of 2.15 and a quick ratio of 0.98. The company has a market cap of $937.19 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -11.67 and a beta of 1.17. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $18.73 and a 200 day moving average price of $19.31.

Compass Minerals International (NYSE:CMP) last posted its earnings results on Monday, December 8th. The basic materials company reported ($0.17) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.15) by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $227.50 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $223.72 million. Compass Minerals International had a negative return on equity of 8.22% and a negative net margin of 6.42%.Compass Minerals International’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted ($0.77) earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Compass Minerals International, Inc. will post -0.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Compass Minerals International

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. CWM LLC lifted its position in Compass Minerals International by 95.0% in the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,363 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 664 shares in the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue acquired a new stake in shares of Compass Minerals International in the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. New York State Teachers Retirement System bought a new stake in shares of Compass Minerals International in the third quarter valued at about $60,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio boosted its position in shares of Compass Minerals International by 37.6% during the second quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 3,967 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $80,000 after buying an additional 1,084 shares during the period. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in shares of Compass Minerals International during the second quarter worth about $83,000. 99.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.