Compass Minerals International, Inc. (NYSE:CMP) Sees Large Decline in Short Interest

Compass Minerals International, Inc. (NYSE:CMP) was the target of a significant decrease in short interest in the month of May. As of May 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,350,000 shares, a decrease of 21.4% from the April 30th total of 2,990,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 737,900 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.2 days. Approximately 7.5% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Compass Minerals International

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Compass Minerals International by 4.3% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 20,665 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $192,000 after purchasing an additional 858 shares during the last quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC lifted its stake in Compass Minerals International by 19.4% in the 1st quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC now owns 305,753 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,840,000 after acquiring an additional 49,668 shares in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its stake in Compass Minerals International by 10.5% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 49,928 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $464,000 after acquiring an additional 4,740 shares in the last quarter. Ewing Morris & Co. Investment Partners Ltd. purchased a new stake in Compass Minerals International in the 1st quarter worth about $3,944,000. Finally, Long Focus Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Compass Minerals International by 48.2% in the 1st quarter. Long Focus Capital Management LLC now owns 222,370 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,066,000 after acquiring an additional 72,370 shares in the last quarter. 99.78% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Compass Minerals International Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of NYSE CMP traded down $0.12 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $19.09. 85,634 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 821,236. Compass Minerals International has a 1 year low of $7.51 and a 1 year high of $20.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $792.27 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.84 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a quick ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 2.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.67. The business has a 50 day moving average of $13.93 and a two-hundred day moving average of $12.81.

Compass Minerals International (NYSE:CMP) last announced 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 business had revenue of $494.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $413.96 million. Compass Minerals International’s quarterly revenue was up 35.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Compass Minerals International will post -0.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Compass Minerals International from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $13.00 to $15.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Compass Minerals International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Compass Minerals International from $15.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, May 12th.

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.