Head-To-Head Analysis: Neo Performance Materials (OTCMKTS:NOPMF) vs. Intrepid Potash (NYSE:IPI)

Neo Performance Materials (OTCMKTS:NOPMF) and Intrepid Potash (NYSE:IPI) are both small-cap materials companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, valuation, institutional ownership, risk, profitability, dividends and analyst recommendations.

Profitability

This table compares Neo Performance Materials and Intrepid Potash’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Neo Performance Materials	0.26%	11.52%	6.47%
Intrepid Potash	8.31%	4.74%	3.72%

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings for Neo Performance Materials and Intrepid Potash, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Neo Performance Materials	0	1	2	1	3.00
Intrepid Potash	1	1	2	1	2.60

Intrepid Potash has a consensus price target of $36.67, suggesting a potential upside of 11.59%. Given Intrepid Potash’s higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Intrepid Potash is more favorable than Neo Performance Materials.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

56.1% of Intrepid Potash shares are held by institutional investors. 2.3% of Intrepid Potash shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Neo Performance Materials and Intrepid Potash”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Neo Performance Materials	$478.79 million	1.69	-$9.98 million	($0.01)	-1,761.00
Intrepid Potash	$298.33 million	1.47	$11.19 million	$1.83	17.96

Intrepid Potash has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Neo Performance Materials. Neo Performance Materials is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Intrepid Potash, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

Intrepid Potash beats Neo Performance Materials on 7 of the 12 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Neo Performance Materials

Neo Performance Materials Inc. engages in the manufacture and sale of rare earth, magnetic powders, magnets, and rare metal-based functional materials in Canada and internationally. The company operates in three segments: Magnequench, Chemicals and Oxides, and Rare Metals. The Magnequench segment produces magnetic powders that are used in bonded and hot deformed fully dense neodymium-iron-boron magnets; and bonded magnets. Its powders are used in the production of bonded permanent magnets that are components in automotive motors, pumps, micro motors, traction motors, sensors, and other applications. The Chemicals and Oxides segments manufactures and distributes a range of industrial materials for use in auto catalysts, consumer electronics, petroleum refining, hybrid and electric vehicles, and municipal and industrial wastewater treatment applications. The Rare Metals segment sources, produces, reclaims, refines, and markets high-temperature metals that include tantalum, niobium, hafnium, and rhenium; and electronic metals, such as gallium and indium for jet engines, medical imaging, wireless technologies, and LED lightings, as well as flat panel displays, solar, steel additives, batteries, and electronic applications. The company was founded in 1994 and is headquartered in Toronto, Canada.

About Intrepid Potash

Intrepid Potash, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the extraction and production of the potash in the United States and internationally. It operates through three segments: Potash, Trio, and Oilfield Solutions. The company offers muriate of potash for various markets, such as agricultural market as a fertilizer input; the industrial market as a component in drilling and fracturing fluids for oil and gas wells, as well as an input to other industrial processes; and the animal feed market as a nutrient supplement. It also provides Trio, a specialty fertilizer that delivers potassium, sulfate, and magnesium in a single particle; water for oil and gas services industry; salt for various markets, including animal feed, industrial applications, pool salt, and the treatment of roads and walkways for ice melting or to manage road conditions; magnesium chloride for use as a road treatment agent for deicing and dedusting; brines for use in oil and gas industry to support well workover and completion activities; and metal recovery salts. Intrepid Potash, Inc. was founded in 1999 and is based in Denver, Colorado.