Compass Minerals International (NYSE:CMP) Shares Gap Down After Earnings Miss

Compass Minerals International, Inc. (NYSE:CMP - Get Free Report) shares gapped down prior to trading on Tuesday following a weaker than expected earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $12.61, but opened at $11.95. Compass Minerals International shares last traded at $12.19, with a volume of 213,796 shares traded.

The basic materials company reported ($0.77) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.05 by ($0.82). Compass Minerals International had a positive return on equity of 4.75% and a negative net margin of 14.81%. The company had revenue of $208.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $323.61 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.05 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 38.9% on a year-over-year basis.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on CMP shares. StockNews.com raised Compass Minerals International to a "sell" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated a "market perform" rating and issued a $20.00 price target on shares of Compass Minerals International in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $31.00.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Michelson Medical Research Foundation Inc. bought a new position in Compass Minerals International during the 3rd quarter valued at about $6,070,000. SW Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Compass Minerals International during the second quarter worth $3,099,000. Bank of Montreal Can increased its stake in shares of Compass Minerals International by 127.5% in the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 525,097 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $6,506,000 after buying an additional 294,333 shares in the last quarter. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. acquired a new position in Compass Minerals International during the 2nd quarter worth about $2,448,000. Finally, Invenomic Capital Management LP increased its position in Compass Minerals International by 23.9% in the 3rd quarter. Invenomic Capital Management LP now owns 969,085 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $11,648,000 after acquiring an additional 186,717 shares in the last quarter. 99.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Compass Minerals International Stock Up 1.7 %

The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $13.59 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $11.90. The stock has a market cap of $531.38 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.45 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.47, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 2.90.

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.