Head to Head Contrast: Intrepid Potash (NYSE:IPI) & Minerals Technologies (NYSE:MTX)

Intrepid Potash (NYSE:IPI) and Minerals Technologies (NYSE:MTX) are both small-cap materials companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, dividends, institutional ownership, risk, valuation, earnings and analyst recommendations.

Profitability

This table compares Intrepid Potash and Minerals Technologies’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Intrepid Potash	8.94%	4.74%	3.73%
Minerals Technologies	-3.13%	10.63%	5.20%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and target prices for Intrepid Potash and Minerals Technologies, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Intrepid Potash	1	2	0	1	2.25
Minerals Technologies	1	1	1	0	2.00

Intrepid Potash presently has a consensus target price of $29.00, suggesting a potential downside of 12.42%. Minerals Technologies has a consensus target price of $90.00, suggesting a potential upside of 40.64%. Given Minerals Technologies’ higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Minerals Technologies is more favorable than Intrepid Potash.

Volatility & Risk

Intrepid Potash has a beta of 1.31, indicating that its share price is 31% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Minerals Technologies has a beta of 1.12, indicating that its share price is 12% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

56.1% of Intrepid Potash shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 97.3% of Minerals Technologies shares are owned by institutional investors. 2.3% of Intrepid Potash shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 3.7% of Minerals Technologies shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Intrepid Potash and Minerals Technologies”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Intrepid Potash	$298.33 million	1.49	$11.19 million	$1.98	16.72
Minerals Technologies	$2.07 billion	0.96	-$18.40 million	($2.17)	-29.49

Intrepid Potash has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Minerals Technologies. Minerals Technologies is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Intrepid Potash, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

Intrepid Potash beats Minerals Technologies on 8 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Intrepid Potash

Intrepid Potash, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the extraction and production of the potash in the United States and internationally. It operates through three segments: Potash, Trio, and Oilfield Solutions. The company offers muriate of potash for various markets, such as agricultural market as a fertilizer input; the industrial market as a component in drilling and fracturing fluids for oil and gas wells, as well as an input to other industrial processes; and the animal feed market as a nutrient supplement. It also provides Trio, a specialty fertilizer that delivers potassium, sulfate, and magnesium in a single particle; water for oil and gas services industry; salt for various markets, including animal feed, industrial applications, pool salt, and the treatment of roads and walkways for ice melting or to manage road conditions; magnesium chloride for use as a road treatment agent for deicing and dedusting; brines for use in oil and gas industry to support well workover and completion activities; and metal recovery salts. Intrepid Potash, Inc. was founded in 1999 and is based in Denver, Colorado.

About Minerals Technologies

Minerals Technologies Inc. develops, produces, and markets various mineral, mineral-based, and related systems and services. The company operates through two segments, Consumer & Specialties, and Engineered Solutions segments. The Consumer & Specialties segment offers household and personal care products, such as pet litter, personal care, fabric care, edible oil and other fluid purification, animal health, and agricultural products; and specialty additives products, including precipitated calcium carbonate and ground calcium carbonate products that are used in the paper, paperboard, and fiber based packaging industries, as well as automotive, construction, and table and food applications. This segment produces limestone and dolomitic limestone used in construction, automotive, and consumer markets for packaging applications. The Engineered Solutions segment provides high-temperature technology products consisting of custom-blended mineral and non-mineral products for casting auto parts, farm and construction equipment, oil and gas production equipment, power generation turbine castings, and rail car components; and environmental and infrastructure products comprising geosynthetic clay lining systems, vapor intrusion mitigation products, sub surface waterproofing systems, green roofs, wastewater remediation, drinking water purification technologies, and drilling products. In addition, this segment provides chromite products; gunnable monolithic refractory products and application systems; monolithic refractory materials and pre-cast refractory shapes; refractory shapes and linings; carbon composite and pyrolitic graphite; and filtration and well testing services. It markets its products primarily through its direct sales force, as well as regional distributors. The company serves in the United States, Canada, Latin America, Europe, Africa, and Asia. Minerals Technologies Inc. was incorporated in 1968 and is headquartered in New York, New York.