Critical Analysis: Compass Minerals International (NYSE:CMP) & Aya Gold & Silver (NASDAQ:AYA)

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

Profitability

This table compares Aya Gold & Silver and Compass Minerals International’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Aya Gold & Silver	32.92%	25.49%	17.70%
Compass Minerals International	1.42%	12.75%	2.28%

Institutional & Insider Ownership

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

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Aya Gold & Silver and Compass Minerals International”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Aya Gold & Silver	$202.10 million	18.29	$45.56 million	$0.56	45.79
Compass Minerals International	$1.24 billion	0.78	-$79.80 million	$0.43	53.95

Aya Gold & Silver has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Compass Minerals International. Aya Gold & Silver 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.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations for Aya Gold & Silver and Compass Minerals International, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Aya Gold & Silver	0	0	2	2	3.50
Compass Minerals International	2	2	1	0	1.80

Compass Minerals International has a consensus target price of $27.00, indicating a potential upside of 16.39%. Given Compass Minerals International’s higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Compass Minerals International is more favorable than Aya Gold & Silver.

Summary

Aya Gold & Silver beats Compass Minerals International on 9 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Aya Gold & Silver

Aya Gold & Silver Inc., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the exploration, evaluation and development of precious metals projects principally in Morocco. The company primarily explores for gold and silver deposits. Its flagship project holds Zgounder property. Aya Gold & Silver Inc. is based in Mount Royal, Canada.

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.