Compass Minerals International (NYSE:CMP) & Norsk Hydro ASA (OTCMKTS:NHYDY) Head to Head Survey

Compass Minerals International (NYSE:CMP) and Norsk Hydro ASA (OTCMKTS:NHYDY) are both materials companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, valuation, profitability, earnings, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations and risk.

Valuation and Earnings

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

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Compass Minerals International	$1.24 billion	0.76	-$79.80 million	$0.43	52.53
Norsk Hydro ASA	$20.05 billion	0.80	$647.52 million	$0.52	15.62

Norsk Hydro ASA has higher revenue and earnings than Compass Minerals International. Norsk Hydro ASA 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.

Volatility and Risk

Compass Minerals International has a beta of 1.25, suggesting that its share price is 25% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Norsk Hydro ASA has a beta of 1.1, suggesting that its share price is 10% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and price targets for Compass Minerals International and Norsk Hydro ASA, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Compass Minerals International	2	2	1	0	1.80
Norsk Hydro ASA	1	8	2	1	2.25

Compass Minerals International currently has a consensus target price of $27.00, indicating a potential upside of 19.54%. Given Compass Minerals International’s higher possible upside, equities research analysts clearly believe Compass Minerals International is more favorable than Norsk Hydro ASA.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Compass Minerals International	1.42%	12.75%	2.28%
Norsk Hydro ASA	4.90%	11.46%	6.05%

Insider and Institutional Ownership

99.8% of Compass Minerals International shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 0.0% of Norsk Hydro ASA shares are held by institutional investors. 1.0% of Compass Minerals International shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.0% of Norsk Hydro ASA shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Norsk Hydro ASA beats Compass Minerals International on 9 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 Norsk Hydro ASA

Norsk Hydro ASA engages in the power production, bauxite extraction, alumina refining, aluminium smelting, and recycling activities; and provision of extruded solutions worldwide. It operates through Hydro Bauxite & Alumina, Hydro Aluminium Metal, Hydro Metal Markets, Hydro Extrusions, and Hydro Energy segments. The Hydro Bauxite & Alumina segment engages in bauxite mining activities, production of alumina, and related commercial activities, primarily the sale of alumina. The Hydro Aluminium Metal segment is involved in the primary aluminum production casting activities. This segment principally offers extrusion ingots, foundry alloys, and sheet and standard ingots. The Metal Markets segment sells products from the company’s primary metal plants; operates recyclers; and trades in physical and financial metals. The Hydro Extrusions segment offers extrusion profiles, building systems, and precision tubing products for construction, automotive and heating, and ventilation and air conditioning sectors, as well as operates recycling facilities. The Hydro Energy segment engages in the trading and wholesale business in Brazil; energy sourcing operations; and operation of power stations in Norway, as well as renewable energy production, such as wind and solar, battery materials, and green hydrogen. Norsk Hydro ASA was founded in 1905 and is headquartered in Oslo, Norway.