Compass Minerals International (NYSE:CMP) Sets New 1-Year High on Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Compass Minerals International, Inc. (NYSE:CMP) shares reached a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock traded as high as $17.75 and last traded at $17.30, with a volume of 577719 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $14.23.

The basic materials company reported $0.63 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.39 by $0.24. The company had revenue of $494.60 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $413.96 million. Compass Minerals International had a negative net margin of 15.10% and a negative return on equity of 10.00%. The company’s revenue was up 35.9% on a year-over-year basis.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on CMP. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on Compass Minerals International from $18.00 to $17.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Compass Minerals International from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $13.00 to $15.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Compass Minerals International from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th.

Institutional Trading of Compass Minerals International

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Compass Minerals International by 28.2% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 487,937 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $4,533,000 after purchasing an additional 107,366 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. acquired a new position in Compass Minerals International in the 1st quarter valued at $40,000. Corton Capital Inc. raised its position in Compass Minerals International by 65.4% during the 1st quarter. Corton Capital Inc. now owns 18,690 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $174,000 after buying an additional 7,390 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Compass Minerals International by 27.4% in the 1st quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 38,283 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $356,000 after acquiring an additional 8,233 shares during the period. Finally, Readystate Asset Management LP boosted its holdings in shares of Compass Minerals International by 8.7% in the first quarter. Readystate Asset Management LP now owns 65,699 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $610,000 after acquiring an additional 5,246 shares in the last quarter. 99.78% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Compass Minerals International Trading Up 4.6 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $779.86 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.76 and a beta of 0.95. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $11.19 and its 200-day moving average price is $12.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.67, a current ratio of 2.37 and a quick ratio of 1.12.

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.