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

Compass Minerals International, Inc. (NYSE:CMP)’s share price gapped down prior to trading on Tuesday after the company announced weaker than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $12.61, but opened at $11.95. Compass Minerals International shares last traded at $12.19, with a volume of 213,796 shares.

The basic materials company reported ($0.77) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.05 by ($0.82). The firm had revenue of $208.80 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $323.61 million. Compass Minerals International had a negative net margin of 14.81% and a positive return on equity of 4.75%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 38.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.05 EPS.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on CMP shares. BMO Capital Markets reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $20.00 target price on shares of Compass Minerals International in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. StockNews.com raised shares of Compass Minerals International to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $31.00.

Institutional Trading of Compass Minerals International

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Denver PWM LLC purchased a new stake in Compass Minerals International during the 2nd quarter worth $29,000. Signaturefd LLC grew its stake in shares of Compass Minerals International by 629.4% during 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. Ridgewood Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Compass Minerals International during the second quarter worth about $37,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC acquired a new position in shares of Compass Minerals International in the second quarter worth about $45,000. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new position in Compass Minerals International in the second quarter valued at about $46,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.78% of the company’s stock.

Compass Minerals International Trading Up 1.7 %

The company has a current ratio of 2.90, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.47. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $13.59 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $11.90. The stock has a market cap of $531.38 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.45 and a beta of 1.17.

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.