Reviewing Compass Minerals International (NYSE:CMP) & Resonac (OTCMKTS:SHWDY)

Compass Minerals International (NYSE:CMP) and Resonac (OTCMKTS:SHWDY) are both basic materials companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, dividends, institutional ownership, earnings, valuation, profitability and analyst recommendations.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent recommendations and price targets for Compass Minerals International and Resonac, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Compass Minerals International	2	2	1	0	1.80
Resonac	0	0	0	1	4.00

Compass Minerals International currently has a consensus target price of $22.00, indicating a potential downside of 1.83%. Given Compass Minerals International’s higher probable upside, equities research analysts clearly believe Compass Minerals International is more favorable than Resonac.

Volatility and Risk

Compass Minerals International has a beta of 1.17, suggesting that its stock price is 17% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Resonac has a beta of 0.41, suggesting that its stock price is 59% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Compass Minerals International and Resonac”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Compass Minerals International	$1.24 billion	0.75	-$79.80 million	($1.92)	-11.67
Resonac	$8.78 billion	0.95	$350.37 million	$0.20	226.00

Resonac has higher revenue and earnings than Compass Minerals International. Compass Minerals International is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Resonac, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares Compass Minerals International and Resonac’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Compass Minerals International	-6.42%	-8.22%	-1.28%
Resonac	0.43%	3.94%	1.26%

Insider & Institutional Ownership

99.8% of Compass Minerals International shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.5% of Compass Minerals International shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Resonac beats Compass Minerals International on 10 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

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. This segment provides products for use as a deicer for roadways, consumer, and professional use; as an ingredient in chemical production; for water treatment, human, and animal nutrition; and for various other consumer and industrial uses, as well as records management services. The Plant Nutrition segment produces sulfate of potash specialty fertilizers in various grades that are used in broadcast spreaders, direct application, and liquid fertilizer solutions under the Protassium+ brand name; turf products used by the turf and ornamental markets, as well as for blends used on golf course greens; organic products; and develops and produces a portfolio of magnesium chloride-based aerial and ground fire retardant products. This segment provides its products to distributors and retailers of crop inputs, as well as growers. The company was formerly known as Salt Holdings Corporation and changed its name to Compass Minerals International, Inc. in December 2003. Compass Minerals International, Inc. was founded in 1844 and is headquartered in Overland Park, Kansas.

About Resonac

Resonac Holdings Corporation operates as a chemical company in Japan, China, rest of Asia, and internationally. It operates through Semiconductor and Electronic Materials, Mobility, Innovation Enabling Materials, and Chemicals segments. The company offers gases and solvents, abatement systems and surface treatments, CMP slurries, and anti-charging materials; semiconductor-related materials, display and sensor-related materials, and films; base and photosensitive materials for PWBs; hard disks, SiCs, and optical semiconductors for use as electronic device components; and molded plastics/sheet-formed, powder metal, and aluminum products for automotives. It also provides lithium-ion batteries and mechanical carbon; ceramics, resins, cosmetic ingredients/medicinal additives, monomers, adhesives, tapes, and chromatography products; and elastomers. In addition, the company offers polyimides; HD media; friction materials; aluminum gravity casting products; packaging/containers for food, medicine, and electronics; electrical insulating epoxy resin molded products; zipper bags and tapes; titanium oxide and alumina; and elastic polishing grindstone. Further, it provides polypropylene and polyethylene; liquefied carbon dioxide, dry ice, and gas-related equipment; liquefied oxygen, nitrogen, and argon; molecular sieve; graphite electrodes; plasters, fireproofing pipes, and wall sidings; cement and moisture removal sheets; industrial materials; and FRP, coated sand, and separating mediums. Additionally, the company engages in the contract development and manufacturing of regenerative medicines; leasing of personal computers and other business equipment; outsourcing of salary, welfare, and finance-related business; and synthesis, analysis, and SDS preparation services. The company was formerly known as Showa Denko K.K. and changed its name to Resonac Holdings Corporation in January 2023. Resonac Holdings Corporation was incorporated in 1939 and is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan.