Compass Minerals International (NYSE:CMP) Shares Gap Down on Disappointing Earnings

Compass Minerals International, Inc. (NYSE:CMP)’s share price gapped down prior to trading on Tuesday after the company announced weaker than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $20.63, but opened at $19.75. Compass Minerals International shares last traded at $17.5360, with a volume of 510,891 shares traded.

The basic materials company reported ($0.17) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.15) by ($0.02). Compass Minerals International had a negative return on equity of 16.70% and a negative net margin of 9.87%.The company had revenue of $227.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $223.72 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned ($0.77) EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.0% compared to the same quarter last year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on CMP. Wall Street Zen cut Compass Minerals International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 16th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Compass Minerals International from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued an “underweight” rating and issued a $18.00 target price (up from $15.00) on shares of Compass Minerals International in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Compass Minerals International in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $20.00.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Compass Minerals International

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. CWM LLC raised its position in Compass Minerals International by 95.0% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,363 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 664 shares during the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue acquired a new position in shares of Compass Minerals International in the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Federated Hermes Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Compass Minerals International in the first quarter valued at approximately $40,000. New York State Teachers Retirement System bought a new position in Compass Minerals International in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $60,000. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC boosted its position in Compass Minerals International by 690,800.0% during the 1st quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 6,909 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $64,000 after buying an additional 6,908 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 99.78% of the company’s stock.

Compass Minerals International Trading Down 16.9%

The company has a current ratio of 2.15, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $714.36 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -5.87 and a beta of 1.16. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $18.34 and its 200 day moving average is $19.30.

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.