Compass Minerals International (NYSE:CMP) Shares Down 6.4% - Here's What Happened

Compass Minerals International, Inc. (NYSE:CMP - Get Free Report) traded down 6.4% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $12.95 and last traded at $12.97. 117,524 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 86% from the average session volume of 812,940 shares. The stock had previously closed at $13.85.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CMP has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. StockNews.com raised Compass Minerals International to a "sell" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. BMO Capital Markets restated a "market perform" rating and issued a $20.00 target price on shares of Compass Minerals International in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $31.00.

Compass Minerals International Trading Down 6.1 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $537.76 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.17 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a current ratio of 2.98, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.25. The company has a fifty day moving average of $10.95 and a two-hundred day moving average of $11.70.

Compass Minerals International (NYSE:CMP - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, September 17th. The basic materials company reported ($1.01) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.67) by ($0.34). The company had revenue of $202.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $201.86 million. Compass Minerals International had a negative net margin of 14.81% and a positive return on equity of 4.53%. On average, research analysts expect that Compass Minerals International, Inc. will post 0.31 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Compass Minerals International

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. First Eagle Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Compass Minerals International in the first quarter valued at about $1,908,000. Freestone Capital Holdings LLC acquired a new position in shares of Compass Minerals International during the 1st quarter worth approximately $767,000. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of Compass Minerals International by 16.1% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 140,097 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $3,547,000 after purchasing an additional 19,455 shares in the last quarter. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Compass Minerals International in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $2,448,000. Finally, Algert Global LLC bought a new position in shares of Compass Minerals International in the second quarter valued at $477,000. 99.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.