Compass Minerals International, Inc. (NYSE:CMP) Short Interest Down 9.1% in January

Compass Minerals International, Inc. (NYSE:CMP) was the recipient of a large decline in short interest in January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 2,000,000 shares, a decline of 9.1% from the January 15th total of 2,200,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 749,900 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.7 days.

Compass Minerals International Stock Up 5.7 %

Shares of NYSE:CMP traded up $0.64 on Tuesday, hitting $11.87. 999,426 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 586,281. The company has a market capitalization of $492.17 million, a PE ratio of -2.28, a P/E/G ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.87, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 2.71. Compass Minerals International has a 1-year low of $7.51 and a 1-year high of $23.59. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $12.12 and its 200 day moving average is $11.94.

Compass Minerals International (NYSE:CMP) last announced its earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The basic materials company reported ($0.55) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.05) by ($0.50). Compass Minerals International had a negative net margin of 19.24% and a negative return on equity of 2.15%. Sell-side analysts predict that Compass Minerals International will post 0.33 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Compass Minerals International

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ballentine Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Compass Minerals International by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 21,559 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $243,000 after purchasing an additional 748 shares during the period. Denver PWM LLC boosted its position in shares of Compass Minerals International by 33.8% in the 3rd quarter. Denver PWM LLC now owns 3,745 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 946 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in shares of Compass Minerals International by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 38,063 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $429,000 after purchasing an additional 983 shares during the period. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC raised its stake in Compass Minerals International by 7.0% during the 4th quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 20,540 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $231,000 after acquiring an additional 1,340 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wolverine Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Compass Minerals International by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Wolverine Asset Management LLC now owns 66,940 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $805,000 after acquiring an additional 1,482 shares during the last quarter. 99.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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