Compass Minerals International (NYSE:CMP) Shares Pass Above Two Hundred Day Moving Average - Should You Sell?

Compass Minerals International, Inc. (NYSE:CMP - Get Free Report)'s share price passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Thursday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $11.67 and traded as high as $13.69. Compass Minerals International shares last traded at $13.20, with a volume of 609,808 shares traded.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on CMP. StockNews.com upgraded Compass Minerals International to a "sell" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. BMO Capital Markets reissued a "market perform" rating and issued a $20.00 price objective on shares of Compass Minerals International in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Compass Minerals International has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $31.00.

Compass Minerals International Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $540.51 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.22 and a beta of 1.10. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $11.52 and its 200-day simple moving average is $11.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.47, a current ratio of 2.90 and a quick ratio of 0.74.

Compass Minerals International (NYSE:CMP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, September 17th. The basic materials company reported ($1.01) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.67) by ($0.34). Compass Minerals International had a positive return on equity of 4.79% and a negative net margin of 14.81%. The firm had revenue of $202.90 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $201.86 million. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Compass Minerals International, Inc. will post 0.02 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its stake in shares of Compass Minerals International by 8.2% during the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 30,553 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $481,000 after buying an additional 2,311 shares during the last quarter. Cove Street Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Compass Minerals International by 35.3% in the 1st quarter. Cove Street Capital LLC now owns 310,188 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $4,882,000 after purchasing an additional 80,980 shares during the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Compass Minerals International by 47.8% in the 1st quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 24,754 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $390,000 after purchasing an additional 8,007 shares in the last quarter. Entropy Technologies LP bought a new position in shares of Compass Minerals International during the first quarter worth about $445,000. Finally, First Eagle Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Compass Minerals International in the first quarter worth about $1,908,000. Hedge funds and other 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.