Skylands Capital LLC Lowers Stake in Compass Minerals International, Inc. (NYSE:CMP)

Skylands Capital LLC trimmed its position in Compass Minerals International, Inc. (NYSE:CMP) by 38.3% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 89,900 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 55,750 shares during the quarter. Skylands Capital LLC’s holdings in Compass Minerals International were worth $1,011,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of CMP. Denver PWM LLC lifted its position in Compass Minerals International by 25.8% during the fourth quarter. Denver PWM LLC now owns 4,712 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $53,000 after buying an additional 967 shares in the last quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund lifted its holdings in shares of Compass Minerals International by 35.9% during the 4th quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 7,189 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $81,000 after acquiring an additional 1,900 shares in the last quarter. Lightrock Netherlands B.V. purchased a new stake in Compass Minerals International during the 4th quarter worth $6,394,000. Inspire Investing LLC increased its holdings in Compass Minerals International by 5.7% in the 4th quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 40,527 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $456,000 after purchasing an additional 2,201 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ballentine Partners LLC raised its position in Compass Minerals International by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 21,559 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $243,000 after purchasing an additional 748 shares during the period. 99.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Compass Minerals International Price Performance

Shares of CMP opened at $12.02 on Monday. Compass Minerals International, Inc. has a 52 week low of $7.51 and a 52 week high of $23.59. The company has a current ratio of 2.37, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.67. The firm has a market cap of $498.62 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.04 and a beta of 1.21. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $12.00 and a 200-day moving average of $11.96.

Compass Minerals International (NYSE:CMP) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 10.00% and a negative net margin of 15.10%. As a group, analysts forecast that Compass Minerals International, Inc. will post -0.53 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CMP has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on shares of Compass Minerals International from $18.00 to $17.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Compass Minerals International from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the company from $13.00 to $15.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Compass Minerals International from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th.

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.