Lsb Industries (NYSE:LXU) vs. Compass Minerals International (NYSE:CMP) Financial Survey

Lsb Industries (NYSE:LXU) and Compass Minerals International (NYSE:CMP) are both small-cap basic materials companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, dividends, valuation, earnings and profitability.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Lsb Industries	4.00%	4.90%	2.13%
Compass Minerals International	-2.82%	8.69%	1.39%

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Lsb Industries and Compass Minerals International”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Lsb Industries	$615.21 million	1.48	$24.61 million	$0.34	37.24
Compass Minerals International	$1.24 billion	0.83	-$79.80 million	($0.92)	-26.79

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

Institutional & Insider Ownership

73.7% of Lsb Industries shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 99.8% of Compass Minerals International shares are held by institutional investors. 4.3% of Lsb Industries shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.0% of Compass Minerals International shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings and recommmendations for Lsb Industries and Compass Minerals International, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Lsb Industries	0	3	1	0	2.25
Compass Minerals International	2	1	1	1	2.20

Lsb Industries currently has a consensus price target of $10.92, indicating a potential downside of 13.77%. Compass Minerals International has a consensus price target of $22.00, indicating a potential downside of 10.75%. Given Compass Minerals International’s higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Compass Minerals International is more favorable than Lsb Industries.

Risk & Volatility

Lsb Industries has a beta of 0.66, meaning that its stock price is 34% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Compass Minerals International has a beta of 1.15, meaning that its stock price is 15% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Lsb Industries beats Compass Minerals International on 8 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Lsb Industries

LSB Industries, Inc. engages in the manufacture, marketing, and sale of chemical products. The company provides nitrogen-based fertilizers, such as ammonia, fertilizer grade high density ammonium nitrate (HDAN), and urea ammonia nitrate for fertilizer for corn, pastures, and other crops, as well as nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium (NPK) fertilizer blends application. It also offers high purity and commercial grade ammonia, high purity ammonium nitrate, sulfuric acids, mixed nitrating acids, carbon dioxide, and diesel exhaust fluids, as well as concentrated, and blended and regular nitric acids for various applications, including semiconductor, nylon, and polyurethane intermediates, ammonium nitrate, and metal processing; chemical feedstocks, emissions abatement, water treatments, and refrigerants; pulp and paper, aluminum, water treatment, metals, and vanadium processing; abatement for diesel vehicles; and food refrigeration, dry ice, and enhanced oil recovery. In addition, the company provides industrial grade and low density ammonium nitrate, and ammonium nitrate for explosives mining, quarries, and other blasting activities. It sells its products through distributors, as well as directly to end customers in the United States and other parts of North America. The company serves to the agricultural, industrial, and mining markets. LSB Industries, Inc. was incorporated in 1968 and is headquartered in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

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.