Renaissance Technologies LLC Increases Stock Position in Compass Minerals International, Inc. $CMP

Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its position in shares of Compass Minerals International, Inc. (NYSE:CMP) by 994.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 172,911 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 157,111 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC owned approximately 0.41% of Compass Minerals International worth $4,037,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in CMP. Comerica Bank boosted its stake in Compass Minerals International by 80.0% during the fourth quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 1,868 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 830 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its stake in Compass Minerals International by 6,266.7% in the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,719 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 1,692 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its stake in Compass Minerals International by 94.4% in the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 2,216 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $52,000 after acquiring an additional 1,076 shares during the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Compass Minerals International during the 1st quarter worth approximately $70,000. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in shares of Compass Minerals International during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $83,000. 99.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CMP has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Compass Minerals International from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their target price for the company from $20.00 to $30.00 in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Compass Point set a $30.00 target price on shares of Compass Minerals International in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $35.00 price target on shares of Compass Minerals International in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Zacks Research lowered Compass Minerals International from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Compass Minerals International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, August 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $28.80.

Compass Minerals International Stock Up 6.9%

Shares of NYSE:CMP opened at $27.43 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.15 billion, a PE ratio of 63.80 and a beta of 1.23. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $29.94 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $26.89. Compass Minerals International, Inc. has a 1 year low of $16.40 and a 1 year high of $34.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.72, a current ratio of 2.01 and a quick ratio of 1.34.

Compass Minerals International (NYSE:CMP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The basic materials company reported ($0.14) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.06) by ($0.08). The business had revenue of $215.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $207.75 million. Compass Minerals International had a return on equity of 12.75% and a net margin of 1.42%.Compass Minerals International’s revenue was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted ($0.39) earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Compass Minerals International, Inc. will post 0.82 EPS for the current year.

Compass Minerals International Company Profile

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.