Short Interest in Compass Minerals International, Inc. (NYSE:CMP) Grows By 10.1%

Compass Minerals International, Inc. (NYSE:CMP) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest during the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,480,000 shares, a growth of 10.1% from the March 31st total of 3,160,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 688,900 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 5.1 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on CMP shares. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on Compass Minerals International from $75.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 11th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on Compass Minerals International from $25.00 to $20.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Loop Capital raised Compass Minerals International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $26.00 to $23.00 in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Compass Minerals International from $24.00 to $21.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $33.80.

Compass Minerals International Stock Performance

NYSE:CMP opened at $12.16 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $502.33 million, a P/E ratio of -8.33, a PEG ratio of 4.17 and a beta of 1.13. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $16.87 and a 200 day simple moving average of $21.46. The company has a current ratio of 3.07, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.98. Compass Minerals International has a 1-year low of $11.85 and a 1-year high of $39.78.

Compass Minerals International (NYSE:CMP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The basic materials company reported $0.05 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.24 by ($0.19). The firm had revenue of $341.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $352.84 million. Compass Minerals International had a positive return on equity of 4.56% and a negative net margin of 4.97%. Compass Minerals International’s quarterly revenue was down 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Compass Minerals International will post 0.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Compass Minerals International Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 20th. Investors of record on Monday, March 11th were issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 8th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.93%. Compass Minerals International’s payout ratio is currently -41.10%.

Institutional Trading of Compass Minerals International

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CMP. Peoples Bank KS bought a new position in Compass Minerals International during the 3rd quarter worth $30,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its stake in Compass Minerals International by 156.5% during the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,239 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 756 shares during the period. Ulland Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in Compass Minerals International during the 3rd quarter worth $58,000. CarsonAllaria Wealth Management Ltd. increased its stake in Compass Minerals International by 12.9% during the 4th quarter. CarsonAllaria Wealth Management Ltd. now owns 4,235 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $107,000 after acquiring an additional 484 shares during the period. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its stake in Compass Minerals International by 117.9% during the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 4,391 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $111,000 after acquiring an additional 2,376 shares during the period. 99.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.