Head-To-Head Contrast: Mitsubishi Chemical (OTCMKTS:MTLHY) vs. Compass Minerals International (NYSE:CMP)

Mitsubishi Chemical (OTCMKTS:MTLHY) and Compass Minerals International (NYSE:CMP) are both basic 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.

Valuation and Earnings

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

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Mitsubishi Chemical	$28.94 billion	0.26	$297.13 million	$0.61	43.46
Compass Minerals International	$1.12 billion	0.66	-$206.10 million	($2.92)	-6.06

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

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Mitsubishi Chemical	0.62%	0.98%	0.38%
Compass Minerals International	-9.87%	-16.70%	-2.77%

Insider & Institutional Ownership

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

Analyst Recommendations

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

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Mitsubishi Chemical	0	0	0	0	0.00
Compass Minerals International	2	2	1	0	1.80

Compass Minerals International has a consensus target price of $20.00, indicating a potential upside of 13.09%. Given Compass Minerals International’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Compass Minerals International is more favorable than Mitsubishi Chemical.

Risk and Volatility

Mitsubishi Chemical has a beta of 0.59, meaning that its share price is 41% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Compass Minerals International has a beta of 1.13, meaning that its share price is 13% more volatile than the S&P 500.

About Mitsubishi Chemical

Mitsubishi Chemical Group Corporation provides performance products, chemicals, industrial gases, health care products, and other products in Japan and internationally. It operates in five segments: Specialty Materials, Industrial Gases, Health Care, MMA, and Basic Materials. The Specialty Materials segment offers performance polymers, soarnol, gohsenol, sustainable polymers, and engineering plastics; coating materials, additives, and fines; packaging, industrial and medical, acetyl, and polyester films; engineering shapes and solutions, carbon fiber and composite materials, and fibers; aqua, life, and infrastructure solutions; and semiconductor, electronics, and battery materials. The Industrial Gases segment provides industrial gases. The Health Care segment offers ethical pharmaceuticals. The MMA segment provides methyl methacrylate (MMA) and polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA). The Basic Materials segment offers basic petrochemicals, polyolefins, and basic chemical derivatives, as well as carbon products. The company provides engineering, transportation, and warehousing services. Mitsubishi Chemical Group Corporation was incorporated in 2005 and is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan.

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.