Short Interest in Compass Minerals International, Inc. (NYSE:CMP) Decreases By 9.1%

Compass Minerals International, Inc. (NYSE:CMP - Get Free Report) saw a large drop in short interest in the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 2,000,000 shares, a drop of 9.1% from the January 15th total of 2,200,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 749,900 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.7 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Compass Minerals International from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on shares of Compass Minerals International from $18.00 to $17.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of 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.

Compass Minerals International Price Performance

Shares of Compass Minerals International stock traded up $0.13 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $12.02. The company's stock had a trading volume of 712,771 shares, compared to its average volume of 592,887. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $12.00 and a 200-day moving average price of $11.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.67, a current ratio of 2.37 and a quick ratio of 1.12. The stock has a market cap of $498.67 million, a P/E ratio of -3.04 and a beta of 1.21. Compass Minerals International has a one year low of $7.51 and a one year high of $23.59.

Compass Minerals International (NYSE:CMP - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 10th. The basic materials company reported ($0.55) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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%. On average, analysts predict that Compass Minerals International will post -0.53 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of CMP. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its holdings in Compass Minerals International by 18.5% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 105,915 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,192,000 after purchasing an additional 16,558 shares during the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC lifted its stake in Compass Minerals International by 206.4% in the fourth quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 118,287 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,331,000 after purchasing an additional 79,681 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP grew its stake in shares of Compass Minerals International by 27.0% during the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 86,090 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $969,000 after buying an additional 18,326 shares during the last quarter. SailingStone Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Compass Minerals International by 13.7% during the fourth quarter. SailingStone Capital Partners LLC now owns 5,427,142 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $61,055,000 after buying an additional 652,129 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Shay Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Compass Minerals International during the 4th quarter worth approximately $330,000. Institutional investors own 99.78% of the company's stock.

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.