Compass Minerals International Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NYSE:CMP)

Compass Minerals International, Inc. (NYSE:CMP) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Thursday. Stock traders acquired 5,005 put options on the stock. This represents an increase of 553% compared to the average volume of 767 put options.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Compass Minerals International Price Performance

CMP stock opened at $11.01 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.67, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a current ratio of 2.37. Compass Minerals International has a 1 year low of $7.51 and a 1 year high of $23.59. The firm has a market cap of $456.75 million, a P/E ratio of -2.79 and a beta of 1.21. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $11.94 and a 200-day simple moving average of $11.97.

Compass Minerals International (NYSE:CMP) last posted 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 15.10% and a negative return on equity of 10.00%. On average, equities analysts predict that Compass Minerals International will post -0.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Compass Minerals International

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Signaturefd LLC grew its stake in Compass Minerals International by 629.4% during the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 2,407 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 2,077 shares in the last quarter. Tsfg LLC acquired a new stake in Compass Minerals International during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Denver PWM LLC grew its stake in Compass Minerals International by 33.8% during 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 in the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in Compass Minerals International by 247.7% during the 3rd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,110 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 2,928 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new stake in Compass Minerals International during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $80,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.78% of the company’s stock.

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.