Aristeia Capital L.L.C. Increases Position in Compass Minerals International, Inc. $CMP

Aristeia Capital L.L.C. lifted its position in shares of Compass Minerals International, Inc. (NYSE:CMP) by 87.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 56,439 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 26,371 shares during the period. Aristeia Capital L.L.C.’s holdings in Compass Minerals International were worth $1,108,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Comerica Bank grew its holdings in Compass Minerals International by 80.0% during the 4th quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 1,868 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 830 shares in the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in Compass Minerals International during the 2nd quarter worth $83,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Compass Minerals International in the 4th quarter worth about $122,000. Vestcor Inc bought a new position in shares of Compass Minerals International in the 3rd quarter worth about $158,000. Finally, CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co lifted its position in shares of Compass Minerals International by 194.5% in the 4th quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 9,393 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $185,000 after buying an additional 6,204 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.78% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Compass Point set a $30.00 price objective on shares of Compass Minerals International in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Compass Minerals International from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $20.00 to $30.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $35.00 price objective on shares of Compass Minerals International in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Compass Minerals International from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Compass Minerals International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, June 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $28.80.

Compass Minerals International Price Performance

NYSE CMP opened at $31.09 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 2.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.30 billion, a PE ratio of 207.29 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $28.45 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $24.52. Compass Minerals International, Inc. has a 12-month low of $16.40 and a 12-month high of $34.50.

Compass Minerals International (NYSE:CMP) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The basic materials company reported $0.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.59 by $0.04. Compass Minerals International had a net margin of 0.55% and a return on equity of 8.99%. The firm had revenue of $453.20 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $418.97 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.63 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Compass Minerals International, Inc. will post 0.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Compass Minerals International

Compass Minerals International, Inc is a global producer of essential mineral-based products, primarily known for its salt and plant nutrition portfolios. The company’s deicing salts are used by municipalities and commercial customers across North America to maintain safer roadways in winter months. In addition, its water conditioning salts serve both residential and industrial users, supporting water treatment systems that remove hard minerals to protect plumbing and equipment.

Beyond conventional salt products, Compass Minerals has developed a specialty plant nutrition business focused on sulfate of potash (SOP), a premium fertilizer that provides both potassium and sulfur to crops.