Compass Minerals International (NYSE:CMP) Shares Gap Down Following Weak Earnings

Shares of Compass Minerals International, Inc. (NYSE:CMP) gapped down prior to trading on Tuesday after the company announced weaker than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $12.12, but opened at $11.50. Compass Minerals International shares last traded at $11.83, with a volume of 39,776 shares trading hands.

The basic materials company reported ($0.55) earnings per share 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%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on Compass Minerals International from $20.00 to $18.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th.

Institutional Trading of Compass Minerals International

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Tsfg LLC bought a new stake in Compass Minerals International in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Signaturefd LLC grew its holdings in shares of Compass Minerals International by 629.4% in the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 2,407 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 2,077 shares in the last quarter. Denver PWM LLC increased its position in shares of Compass Minerals International by 33.8% during the third quarter. Denver PWM LLC now owns 3,745 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 946 shares during the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Compass Minerals International by 247.7% during the third quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,110 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $49,000 after acquiring an additional 2,928 shares during the period. Finally, KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new stake in Compass Minerals International during the fourth quarter worth $80,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.78% of the company’s stock.

Compass Minerals International Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $473.59 million, a PE ratio of -2.19, a PEG ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 2.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.87. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $12.32 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $11.99.

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.