Compass Minerals International (NYSE:CMP) Stock Price Crosses Below 50 Day Moving Average – Should You Sell?

Compass Minerals International, Inc. (NYSE:CMP) shares crossed below its 50-day moving average during trading on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $23.16 and traded as low as $22.80. Compass Minerals International shares last traded at $22.9830, with a volume of 174,051 shares trading hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CMP has been the topic of a number of research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of Compass Minerals International from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $30.00 to $27.00 in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their target price on shares of Compass Minerals International from $35.00 to $32.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 31st. Compass Point set a $27.00 price target on shares of Compass Minerals International in a 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 report on Friday, August 28th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Compass Minerals International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, August 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $27.00.

Compass Minerals International Price Performance

The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $23.16 and a 200 day simple moving average of $25.90. 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 cap of $964.83 million, a P/E ratio of 53.45 and a beta of 1.26.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CMP. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Compass Minerals International by 16.2% in the 3rd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 53,141 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,171,000 after purchasing an additional 7,407 shares in the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Compass Minerals International by 9.0% during the third quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 11,864 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $261,000 after acquiring an additional 979 shares during the period. Inspire Investing LLC lifted its position in Compass Minerals International by 31.6% during the 3rd quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 28,761 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $634,000 after purchasing an additional 6,910 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Compass Minerals International by 81.1% in the third quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,742 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $149,000 after acquiring an additional 3,020 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SummerHaven Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Compass Minerals International in the third quarter valued at about $1,603,000. Institutional investors own 99.78% of the company’s stock.

Compass Minerals International Company Profile

Compass Minerals International (NYSE: CMP) produces essential minerals used in transportation, consumer and industrial markets, and agriculture. Its products include rock salt for highway deicing, as well as salt for consumer and industrial applications. The company also produces sulfate of potash, a specialty fertilizer used to support crop growth. Compass Minerals makes the product from resources at its Great Salt Lake operations in Utah. Compass Minerals’ salt operations include mines in Goderich, Ontario, and Winsford, England.