Compass Minerals International (NYSE:CMP) Shares Down 17.2% on Disappointing Earnings

Shares of Compass Minerals International, Inc. (NYSE:CMP) were down 17.2% during mid-day trading on Thursday following a weaker than expected earnings announcement. The company traded as low as $23.09 and last traded at $24.8790. Approximately 209,006 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 62% from the average daily volume of 555,124 shares. The stock had previously closed at $30.03.

The basic materials company reported ($0.14) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.06) by ($0.08). Compass Minerals International had a return on equity of 8.99% and a net margin of 0.55%.The company had revenue of $215.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $207.75 million. During the same period last year, the business posted ($0.39) earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CMP has been the topic of several research reports. Compass Point set a $30.00 price objective on Compass Minerals International in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Zacks Research downgraded Compass Minerals International from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Compass Minerals International from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price target for the company from $20.00 to $30.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Compass Minerals International from a “sell (d)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Compass Minerals International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $28.80.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Compass Minerals International

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Martingale Asset Management L P raised its position in Compass Minerals International by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P now owns 36,832 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $723,000 after purchasing an additional 606 shares in the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP grew its holdings in shares of Compass Minerals International by 5.2% during the first quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 13,670 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $319,000 after purchasing an additional 674 shares during the last quarter. Comerica Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Compass Minerals International by 80.0% in the fourth quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 1,868 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 830 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its stake in Compass Minerals International by 4.3% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 20,665 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $192,000 after purchasing an additional 858 shares during the period. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its position in Compass Minerals International by 94.4% in the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 2,216 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $52,000 after acquiring an additional 1,076 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 99.78% of the company’s stock.

Compass Minerals International Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $1.07 billion, a PE ratio of 167.05 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.60, a current ratio of 2.06 and a quick ratio of 1.34. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $30.16 and a 200 day moving average price of $26.87.

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.