Alliancebernstein L.P. Cuts Stock Position in Compass Minerals International, Inc. (NYSE:CMP)

Alliancebernstein L.P. decreased its position in Compass Minerals International, Inc. (NYSE:CMP) by 21.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 35,267 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 9,720 shares during the quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P.’s holdings in Compass Minerals International were worth $397,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Compass Minerals International by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 782,811 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $9,412,000 after acquiring an additional 6,062 shares during the last quarter. Lightrock Netherlands B.V. bought a new stake in Compass Minerals International in the fourth quarter worth $6,394,000. Bard Financial Services Inc. boosted its position in Compass Minerals International by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Bard Financial Services Inc. now owns 189,615 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,133,000 after buying an additional 2,250 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in shares of Compass Minerals International by 77.8% during the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 154,773 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,741,000 after buying an additional 67,725 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Compass Minerals International in the fourth quarter worth about $1,439,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.78% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CMP has been the subject of several analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on Compass Minerals International from $18.00 to $17.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Compass Minerals International from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $13.00 to $15.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Compass Minerals International from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th.

Compass Minerals International Stock Up 1.6 %

NYSE CMP opened at $11.33 on Monday. Compass Minerals International, Inc. has a 1 year low of $7.51 and a 1 year high of $15.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $470.24 million, a PE ratio of -2.87 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.67, a current ratio of 2.37 and a quick ratio of 1.12. The business’s 50-day moving average is $10.47 and its 200 day moving average is $12.04.

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

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.