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

Aristeia Capital L.L.C. boosted its stake in Compass Minerals International, Inc. (NYSE:CMP) by 87.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 56,439 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 26,371 shares during the quarter. Aristeia Capital L.L.C. owned approximately 0.13% of Compass Minerals International worth $1,108,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. SailingStone Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in Compass Minerals International by 6.1% in the 4th quarter. SailingStone Capital Partners LLC now owns 5,414,067 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $106,332,000 after purchasing an additional 308,957 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Compass Minerals International by 14.7% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,775,116 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $53,282,000 after buying an additional 354,960 shares during the last quarter. Ewing Morris & Co. Investment Partners Ltd. increased its holdings in Compass Minerals International by 201.7% in the 2nd quarter. Ewing Morris & Co. Investment Partners Ltd. now owns 1,280,648 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $25,728,000 after purchasing an additional 856,149 shares during the last quarter. Gumshoe Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Compass Minerals International in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $24,842,000. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in Compass Minerals International by 35.0% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,236,884 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $23,748,000 after purchasing an additional 320,796 shares during the last quarter. 99.78% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Compass Minerals International Trading Up 0.0%

Shares of CMP opened at $31.09 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 2.06, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.60. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $28.45 and its two-hundred day moving average is $24.52. Compass Minerals International, Inc. has a twelve month low of $16.40 and a twelve month high of $34.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 207.29 and a beta of 1.23.

Compass Minerals International (NYSE:CMP) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The basic materials company reported $0.63 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of $453.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $418.97 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.63 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Compass Minerals International, Inc. will post 0.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on CMP. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Compass Minerals International from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $20.00 to $30.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. Zacks Research cut shares of Compass Minerals International from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Compass Minerals International from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Compass Minerals International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, June 13th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $35.00 target price on shares of Compass Minerals International in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $28.80.

Compass Minerals International Profile

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.