Critical Comparison: Methanex (NASDAQ:MEOH) and Compass Minerals International (NYSE:CMP)

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

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Compass Minerals International and Methanex”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	0.66	-$79.80 million	($1.92)	-10.18
Methanex	$3.57 billion	0.86	$163.99 million	$2.95	13.51

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

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Compass Minerals International	-6.42%	-8.22%	-1.28%
Methanex	5.97%	9.07%	3.41%

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings for Compass Minerals International and Methanex, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Compass Minerals International	2	2	1	0	1.80
Methanex	0	3	9	1	2.85

Compass Minerals International presently has a consensus price target of $20.60, suggesting a potential upside of 5.34%. Methanex has a consensus price target of $46.55, suggesting a potential upside of 16.77%. Given Methanex’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Methanex is more favorable than Compass Minerals International.

Volatility & Risk

Compass Minerals International has a beta of 1.16, indicating that its stock price is 16% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Methanex has a beta of 0.77, indicating that its stock price is 23% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

99.8% of Compass Minerals International shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 73.5% of Methanex shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.5% of Compass Minerals International shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 1.0% of Methanex shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

Methanex beats Compass Minerals International on 12 of the 15 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 Methanex

Methanex Corporation produces and supplies methanol in China, Europe, the United States, South America, South Korea, Canada, and Asia. The company also purchases methanol produced by others under methanol offtake contracts and on the spot market. In addition, it owns and leases storage and terminal facilities. The company owns and manages a fleet of approximately 30 ocean-going vessels. It serves chemical and petrochemical producers. Methanex Corporation was incorporated in 1968 and is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada.