Head-To-Head Review: Compass Minerals International (NYSE:CMP) vs. Aura Minerals (NASDAQ:AUGO)

Aura Minerals (NASDAQ:AUGO) and Compass Minerals International (NYSE:CMP) are both materials companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, analyst recommendations, valuation, profitability, institutional ownership, risk and earnings.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

99.8% of Compass Minerals International shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.0% of Compass Minerals International shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Dividends

Aura Minerals pays an annual dividend of $2.88 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.4%. Compass Minerals International pays an annual dividend of $0.60 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.7%. Aura Minerals pays out 81.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Compass Minerals International pays out 139.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Aura Minerals is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Volatility & Risk

Aura Minerals has a beta of 0.48, suggesting that its share price is 52% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Compass Minerals International has a beta of 1.25, suggesting that its share price is 25% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings for Aura Minerals and Compass Minerals International, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Aura Minerals	0	2	5	0	2.71
Compass Minerals International	2	2	1	0	1.80

Aura Minerals presently has a consensus target price of $86.95, indicating a potential upside of 1.91%. Compass Minerals International has a consensus target price of $27.00, indicating a potential upside of 23.37%. Given Compass Minerals International’s higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Compass Minerals International is more favorable than Aura Minerals.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Aura Minerals	23.18%	103.62%	21.84%
Compass Minerals International	1.42%	12.75%	2.28%

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Aura Minerals and Compass Minerals International”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Aura Minerals	$1.29 billion	5.55	-$79.34 million	$3.54	24.10
Compass Minerals International	$1.29 billion	0.71	-$79.80 million	$0.43	50.90

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

Summary

Aura Minerals beats Compass Minerals International on 10 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Aura Minerals

We are an Americas gold and copper production company with a significant portfolio of mining operations. Our mission is to deliver long-term value by unlocking operational efficiencies, responsibly growing our portfolio with a focus on return on invested capital, responsible mining practices and a commitment to sustainability. We operate with a decentralized culture, supported by a lean corporate team that ensures agile and dynamic management and decision-making processes, focused on high operational sustainability compliance standards. We believe that our success as a gold and copper mining company is the result of a combination of strategic acquisitions, mine expansions and development and efficiency improvements. Backed by a traditional Brazilian family of seasoned gold-focused entrepreneurs and mine developers, as well as a new management team, we have undergone a significant transformation since 2016, enhancing our profitability, replenishing resources and even extending the life-of-mine (LOM) across our operating assets, while also facilitating inorganic expansion — consistently guided by a disciplined commitment to value creation and sustainable growth. We have a track record of expanding and building new mines on-time and on-budget, with ramp-up capabilities, consistent cash flow generation and dividend payments while delivering an attractive return on investment. Our disciplined cost management ensures efficiency in reserve development while we strive to serve as the benchmark for operational security and excellence in project development. Strategically, we prioritize high-IRR (Internal Rate of Return) growth opportunities, balancing capital appreciation with reliable dividend distributions. We currently operate four wholly-owned operating mines and one mine in ramp-up phase. Our operating mines are the Aranzazu copper-gold-silver mine in Mexico, the Apoena and Almas gold mines in Brazil and the Minosa gold mine in Honduras. Additionally, we own and operate the Borborema gold mine in Brazil, which is currently in its ramp-up phase and is expected to achieve commercial production by the third quarter of 2025. In addition to our operating mines, our main development projects are the Era Dorada gold project in Guatemala and the Matupá gold project in Brazil. We have significant exploration potential, owning over 563,558 hectares of mineral rights, and we are currently advancing multiple near-mine and regional targets along with the Carajás (Serra da Estrela) copper project in the prolific Carajás region of Brazil. Our registered office is located the British Virgin Islands.

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.