Cove Street Capital LLC Sells 350,408 Shares of Compass Minerals International, Inc. (NYSE:CMP)

Cove Street Capital LLC reduced its holdings in Compass Minerals International, Inc. (NYSE:CMP - Free Report) by 63.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 201,372 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 350,408 shares during the period. Compass Minerals International makes up about 2.6% of Cove Street Capital LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest position. Cove Street Capital LLC owned about 0.49% of Compass Minerals International worth $2,266,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of CMP. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. increased its position in Compass Minerals International by 1,145.5% during the third 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 during the 3rd quarter worth about $1,202,000. Weiss Asset Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Compass Minerals International during the third quarter valued at about $1,177,000. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in shares of Compass Minerals International by 76.7% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 92,803 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,116,000 after buying an additional 40,288 shares during the period. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new stake in shares of Compass Minerals International in the third quarter valued at about $535,000. 99.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CMP has been the subject of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Compass Minerals International from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their price target for the company from $13.00 to $15.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. StockNews.com raised Compass Minerals International from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered 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.

Compass Minerals International Price Performance

NYSE CMP traded down $0.20 during trading on Thursday, reaching $9.11. 133,605 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 781,071. Compass Minerals International, Inc. has a 1-year low of $7.51 and a 1-year high of $15.82. The company has a market cap of $378.10 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.31 and a beta of 1.27. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $11.00 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $12.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.67, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a current ratio of 2.37.

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

Compass Minerals International 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.