Compass Minerals International Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NYSE:CMP)

Compass Minerals International, Inc. (NYSE:CMP) saw unusually large options trading on Wednesday. Stock traders purchased 5,029 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 542% compared to the typical daily volume of 783 call options.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CMP has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Compass Minerals International from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised 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 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 research note on Wednesday, February 12th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Compass Minerals International

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Compass Minerals International by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 89,357 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,074,000 after acquiring an additional 1,764 shares during the period. Quadrature Capital Ltd acquired a new position in Compass Minerals International during the third quarter worth approximately $296,000. XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new position in Compass Minerals International during the third quarter worth approximately $415,000. Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in shares of Compass Minerals International by 76.7% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 92,803 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,116,000 after purchasing an additional 40,288 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Compass Minerals International by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 782,811 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $9,412,000 after buying an additional 6,062 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.78% of the company’s stock.

Compass Minerals International Price Performance

Shares of CMP traded up $0.26 on Wednesday, reaching $9.65. The stock had a trading volume of 59,569 shares, compared to its average volume of 786,484. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $10.67 and a 200 day moving average of $12.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $400.31 million, a PE ratio of -2.44 and a beta of 1.17. Compass Minerals International has a twelve month low of $7.51 and a twelve month high of $15.82. The company has a quick ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 2.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.67.

Compass Minerals International (NYSE:CMP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The basic materials company reported ($0.55) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.05) by ($0.50). Compass Minerals International had a negative net margin of 15.10% and a negative return on equity of 10.00%. Sell-side analysts expect that Compass Minerals International will post -0.53 EPS for the current year.

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.