Compass Minerals International (NYSE:CMP) Stock Price Down 6.3%

Compass Minerals International, Inc. (NYSE:CMP) shares traded down 6.3% on Thursday . The company traded as low as $12.46 and last traded at $12.61. 330,660 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 53% from the average session volume of 700,461 shares. The stock had previously closed at $13.46.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on Compass Minerals International from $75.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 11th. Loop Capital upgraded Compass Minerals International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $26.00 to $23.00 in a research note on Friday, April 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Compass Minerals International from $24.00 to $21.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 9th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on Compass Minerals International from $25.00 to $20.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Compass Minerals International presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $33.80.

Compass Minerals International Trading Down 5.3 %

The company has a market capitalization of $526.70 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -8.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.98, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 3.07. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $15.99 and a 200-day moving average price of $20.96.

Compass Minerals International (NYSE:CMP) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The basic materials company reported $1.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.23 by $1.26. The company had revenue of $364.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $386.97 million. Compass Minerals International had a positive return on equity of 4.56% and a negative net margin of 4.97%. Compass Minerals International’s quarterly revenue was down 11.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.46) EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Compass Minerals International, Inc. will post 0.07 EPS for the current year.

Compass Minerals International Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 20th. Investors of record on Monday, March 11th were paid a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.71%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 8th. Compass Minerals International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -41.10%.

Institutional Trading of Compass Minerals International

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of CMP. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Compass Minerals International during the fourth quarter valued at about $5,039,000. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of Compass Minerals International by 22.8% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 120,642 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $3,372,000 after purchasing an additional 22,439 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its stake in shares of Compass Minerals International by 44.8% during the third quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 131,497 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $3,662,000 after purchasing an additional 40,676 shares in the last quarter. Algert Global LLC boosted its stake in shares of Compass Minerals International by 423.2% during the third quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 36,507 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,020,000 after purchasing an additional 29,530 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Foundation Advisors bought a new position in shares of Compass Minerals International during the third quarter worth about $1,344,000. 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.