Compass Minerals International, Inc. (NYSE:CMP) Short Interest Up 7.9% in July

Compass Minerals International, Inc. (NYSE:CMP) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest during the month of July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totalling 4,940,000 shares, a growth of 7.9% from the June 30th total of 4,580,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 729,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 6.8 days.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Compass Minerals International

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. First Eagle Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Compass Minerals International during the first quarter worth $1,908,000. Morningstar Investment Services LLC increased its position in shares of Compass Minerals International by 89.2% during the 4th quarter. Morningstar Investment Services LLC now owns 1,352,718 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $35,333,000 after purchasing an additional 637,883 shares during the last quarter. Yost Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Compass Minerals International during the 4th quarter worth $4,583,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Compass Minerals International during the 4th quarter worth $5,039,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Compass Minerals International by 16.1% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 140,097 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $3,547,000 after buying an additional 19,455 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.78% of the company’s stock.

Compass Minerals International Stock Up 0.2 %

NYSE CMP traded up $0.02 on Thursday, reaching $13.32. The company had a trading volume of 10,072 shares, compared to its average volume of 705,300. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 2.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.25. The company’s fifty day moving average is $11.91 and its 200 day moving average is $15.72. Compass Minerals International has a 52-week low of $9.76 and a 52-week high of $39.78. The stock has a market capitalization of $550.52 million, a P/E ratio of -6.36, a P/E/G ratio of 0.57 and a beta of 1.13.

Compass Minerals International (NYSE:CMP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The basic materials company reported $1.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.23 by $1.26. Compass Minerals International had a negative net margin of 7.47% and a positive return on equity of 22.03%. The company had revenue of $364.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $386.97 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned ($0.46) earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 11.5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Compass Minerals International will post 0.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Loop Capital raised shares of Compass Minerals International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $26.00 to $23.00 in a research report on Friday, April 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Compass Minerals International has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $31.00.

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.