314,066 Shares in Compass Minerals International, Inc. (NYSE:CMP) Acquired by Kennedy Capital Management LLC

Kennedy Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Compass Minerals International, Inc. (NYSE:CMP) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 314,066 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,533,000. Kennedy Capital Management LLC owned about 0.76% of Compass Minerals International at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Compass Minerals International in the fourth quarter valued at $1,439,000. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Compass Minerals International by 42.2% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 199,794 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,248,000 after acquiring an additional 59,312 shares during the last quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN raised its position in shares of Compass Minerals International by 24.2% during the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 27,122 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $305,000 after acquiring an additional 5,292 shares in the last quarter. Trexquant Investment LP acquired a new position in Compass Minerals International in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $268,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Compass Minerals International by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 785,676 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $8,842,000 after purchasing an additional 2,865 shares during the last quarter. 99.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Compass Minerals International Trading Up 5.0 %

Shares of Compass Minerals International stock opened at $10.77 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.67, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a current ratio of 2.37. The company has a market capitalization of $447.04 million, a P/E ratio of -2.73 and a beta of 1.17. Compass Minerals International, Inc. has a 1 year low of $7.51 and a 1 year high of $15.82. The company’s fifty day moving average is $10.54 and its two-hundred day moving average is $12.07.

Compass Minerals International (NYSE:CMP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The basic materials company reported ($0.55) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.05) by ($0.50). Compass Minerals International had a negative net margin of 15.10% and a negative return on equity of 10.00%. Analysts forecast that Compass Minerals International, Inc. will post -0.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Compass Minerals International from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $13.00 to $15.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on Compass Minerals International from $18.00 to $17.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Compass Minerals International from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th.

Compass Minerals International Company Profile

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.