Head-To-Head Comparison: Compass Minerals International (NYSE:CMP) vs. Northern Technologies International (NASDAQ:NTIC)

Compass Minerals International (NYSE:CMP) and Northern Technologies International (NASDAQ:NTIC) are both small-cap basic materials companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, profitability, dividends, analyst recommendations, earnings, institutional ownership and valuation.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings and target prices for Compass Minerals International and Northern Technologies International, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Compass Minerals International	1	2	1	0	2.00
Northern Technologies International	0	0	0	0	0.00

Compass Minerals International presently has a consensus price target of $20.00, indicating a potential upside of 3.04%. Given Compass Minerals International’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities research analysts plainly believe Compass Minerals International is more favorable than Northern Technologies International.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Compass Minerals International and Northern Technologies International”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Compass Minerals International	$1.12 billion	0.72	-$206.10 million	($2.92)	-6.65
Northern Technologies International	$85.06 million	0.87	$5.41 million	$0.30	26.00

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

Risk and Volatility

Compass Minerals International has a beta of 1.07, suggesting that its stock price is 7% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Northern Technologies International has a beta of 0.3, suggesting that its stock price is 70% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

99.8% of Compass Minerals International shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 32.9% of Northern Technologies International shares are held by institutional investors. 1.5% of Compass Minerals International shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 24.3% of Northern Technologies International shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Compass Minerals International	-9.87%	-16.70%	-2.77%
Northern Technologies International	3.46%	3.38%	2.66%

Summary

Northern Technologies International beats Compass Minerals International on 8 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 Northern Technologies International

Northern Technologies International Corporation develops and markets rust and corrosion inhibiting solutions in North America, South America, Europe, Asia, the Middle East and internationally. It offers rust and corrosion inhibiting products, such as plastic and paper packaging, liquids, coatings, rust removers, cleaners, diffusers, and engineered solutions designed for the oil and gas industry under the ZERUST brand. The company provides a portfolio of bio-based and certified compostable polymer resin compounds and finished products under the Natur-Tec brand. In addition, it offers on-site and technical consulting for rust and corrosion prevention issues. It sells its products and services to automotive, electronics, electrical, mechanical, military, retail consumer, and oil and gas markets through direct sales force, network of independent distributors, agents, manufacturer's sales representatives, and strategic partners. The company was founded in 1970 and is headquartered in Circle Pines, Minnesota.