Royce & Associates LP Acquires 45,000 Shares of Compass Minerals International, Inc. (NYSE:CMP)

Royce & Associates LP increased its holdings in Compass Minerals International, Inc. (NYSE:CMP) by 66.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 112,609 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 45,000 shares during the period. Royce & Associates LP owned 0.27% of Compass Minerals International worth $1,267,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in CMP. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. increased its stake in Compass Minerals International by 1,145.5% during the 3rd quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. now owns 55,087 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $662,000 after acquiring an additional 50,664 shares during the period. Repertoire Partners LP bought a new position in shares of Compass Minerals International in the third quarter worth $1,202,000. Weiss Asset Management LP bought a new position in shares of Compass Minerals International in the third quarter worth $1,177,000. Barclays PLC lifted its position in Compass Minerals International by 76.7% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 92,803 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,116,000 after purchasing an additional 40,288 shares during the period. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new stake in Compass Minerals International during the third quarter worth about $535,000. 99.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Compass Minerals International Stock Down 6.3 %

CMP stock opened at $10.26 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $11.73 and a 200-day moving average price of $12.05. Compass Minerals International, Inc. has a 12 month low of $7.51 and a 12 month high of $17.99. The company has a current ratio of 2.37, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $425.83 million, a P/E ratio of -2.60 and a beta of 1.27.

Compass Minerals International (NYSE:CMP) last issued its earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The basic materials company reported ($0.55) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.05) by ($0.50). Compass Minerals International had a negative net margin of 15.10% and a negative return on equity of 10.00%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Compass Minerals International, Inc. will post -0.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CMP has been the subject of several analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on shares of 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. StockNews.com raised shares of Compass Minerals International from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Compass Minerals International from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $13.00 to $15.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th.

About Compass Minerals International

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.