Compass Minerals International (NYSE:CMP) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume – Here’s Why

Shares of Compass Minerals International, Inc. (NYSE:CMP) saw unusually-strong trading volume on Friday . Approximately 4,277,813 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 426% from the previous session’s volume of 813,442 shares.The stock last traded at $14.76 and had previously closed at $12.00.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on CMP. StockNews.com raised shares of Compass Minerals International to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $20.00 price target on shares of Compass Minerals International in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $31.00.

Compass Minerals International Trading Up 21.3 %

The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $12.06 and its 200 day moving average price is $11.66. The company has a market cap of $603.10 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.55 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a current ratio of 2.90, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.47.

Compass Minerals International (NYSE:CMP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, September 17th. The basic materials company reported ($1.01) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.67) by ($0.34). Compass Minerals International had a positive return on equity of 4.75% and a negative net margin of 14.81%. The company had revenue of $202.90 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $201.86 million. As a group, equities analysts expect that Compass Minerals International, Inc. will post 0.02 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Compass Minerals International

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CMP. Michelson Medical Research Foundation Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Compass Minerals International during the third quarter valued at approximately $6,070,000. Invenomic Capital Management LP acquired a new position in Compass Minerals International during the first quarter worth $7,486,000. SW Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Compass Minerals International in the second quarter valued at $3,099,000. Bank of Montreal Can increased its position in shares of Compass Minerals International by 127.5% during the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 525,097 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $6,506,000 after acquiring an additional 294,333 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lee Danner & Bass Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Compass Minerals International in the 2nd quarter worth about $2,448,000. 99.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Compass Minerals International Company 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.