Head-To-Head Survey: Ramaco Resources (NASDAQ:METC) versus Compass Minerals International (NYSE:CMP)

Compass Minerals International (NYSE:CMP) and Ramaco Resources (NASDAQ:METC) are both small-cap materials companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, earnings, institutional ownership, risk, dividends, valuation and profitability.

Profitability

This table compares Compass Minerals International and Ramaco Resources’ 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%
Ramaco Resources	-12.24%	-16.07%	-6.26%

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Compass Minerals International and Ramaco Resources”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	0.79	-$79.80 million	$0.43	54.61
Ramaco Resources	$536.62 million	0.81	-$51.45 million	($1.14)	-5.98

Ramaco Resources has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Compass Minerals International. Ramaco Resources 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.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

99.8% of Compass Minerals International shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 74.5% of Ramaco Resources shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.0% of Compass Minerals International shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 46.1% of Ramaco Resources shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Risk and Volatility

Compass Minerals International has a beta of 1.26, meaning that its share price is 26% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Ramaco Resources has a beta of 1.46, meaning that its share price is 46% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings and target prices for Compass Minerals International and Ramaco Resources, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Compass Minerals International	2	2	1	0	1.80
Ramaco Resources	1	4	3	0	2.25

Compass Minerals International presently has a consensus price target of $27.00, indicating a potential upside of 14.99%. Ramaco Resources has a consensus price target of $17.33, indicating a potential upside of 154.15%. Given Ramaco Resources’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Ramaco Resources is more favorable than Compass Minerals International.

Summary

Ramaco Resources beats Compass Minerals International on 7 of the 13 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 Ramaco Resources

Ramaco Resources, Inc. engages in the development, operation, and sale of metallurgical coal. Its development portfolio includes the Elk Creek project that covers an area of approximately 20,200 acres located in southern West Virginia; the Berwind property covering an area of approximately 62,500 acres situated on the border of West Virginia and Virginia; the Knox Creek property, which covers an area of approximately 64,050 acres is located in Virginia; the Maben property covering an area of approximately 28,000 acres situated in southwestern Pennsylvania southern West Virginia; and the Brook Mine property that covers an area of approximately 16,000 acres located in northeastern Wyoming. The company serves blast furnace steel mills and coke plants in the United States, as well as metallurgical coal consumers internationally. Ramaco Resources, Inc. was founded in 2015 and is headquartered in Lexington, Kentucky.