Compass Minerals International (NYSE:CMP – Get Free Report) and Oil-Dri Corporation Of America (NYSE:ODC – Get Free Report) are both small-cap basic materials companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, earnings, dividends, profitability, valuation, risk and analyst recommendations.
Profitability
This table compares Compass Minerals International and Oil-Dri Corporation Of America’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Compass Minerals International | -2.82% | 8.69% | 1.39% |
| Oil-Dri Corporation Of America | 11.01% | 20.18% | 13.78% |
Analyst Ratings
This is a summary of recent ratings and price targets for Compass Minerals International and Oil-Dri Corporation Of America, as reported by MarketBeat.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Compass Minerals International | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2.20 |
| Oil-Dri Corporation Of America | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3.00 |
Institutional and Insider Ownership
99.8% of Compass Minerals International shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 49.0% of Oil-Dri Corporation Of America shares are held by institutional investors. 1.0% of Compass Minerals International shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 11.7% of Oil-Dri Corporation Of America shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.
Valuation and Earnings
This table compares Compass Minerals International and Oil-Dri Corporation Of America”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 | 0.88 | -$79.80 million | ($0.92) | -28.53 |
| Oil-Dri Corporation Of America | $485.57 million | 2.18 | $54.00 million | $3.69 | 19.80 |
Oil-Dri Corporation Of America has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Compass Minerals International. Compass Minerals International is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Oil-Dri Corporation Of America, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Volatility & Risk
Compass Minerals International has a beta of 1.18, meaning that its share price is 18% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Oil-Dri Corporation Of America has a beta of 0.82, meaning that its share price is 18% less volatile than the S&P 500.
Summary
Oil-Dri Corporation Of America beats Compass Minerals International on 9 of the 14 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 Oil-Dri Corporation Of America
Oil-Dri Corporation of America is a manufacturer and supplier of specialty sorbent products for the pet care, animal health and nutrition, fluids purification, agricultural ingredients, sports field, industrial and automotive markets. It operates through the Business to Business Products Group and Retail and Wholesale Products Group segments. The Business to Business Products Group segment’s customers include processors and refiners of edible oils, jet fuel and biofuel, manufacturers of animal feed and agricultural chemicals, distributors of animal health and nutrition products, and marketers of consumer products. The Retail and Wholesale Products Group segment customers include retailers of cat litter and related accessories such as mass merchandisers, drugstore chains, pet specialty retail outlets, dollar stores, retail grocery stores as well as distributors of industrial cleanup and automotive products, environmental service companies, and sports field product users. The company was founded by Nick Jaffee in 1941 and is headquartered in Chicago, IL.
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