Head to Head Comparison: Intrepid Potash (NYSE:IPI) vs. Nutrien (NYSE:NTR)

Intrepid Potash (NYSE:IPI) and Nutrien (NYSE:NTR) are both basic materials companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, profitability, earnings, dividends, valuation, risk and institutional ownership.

Risk & Volatility

Intrepid Potash has a beta of 1.72, indicating that its share price is 72% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Nutrien has a beta of 0.8, indicating that its share price is 20% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

56.1% of Intrepid Potash shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 63.1% of Nutrien shares are held by institutional investors. 2.4% of Intrepid Potash shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 3.1% of Nutrien shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Intrepid Potash	-75.09%	0.31%	0.26%
Nutrien	2.05%	6.08%	2.86%

Valuation & Earnings

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

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Intrepid Potash	$254.69 million	1.92	-$212.85 million	($15.89)	-2.31
Nutrien	$25.68 billion	1.15	$674.00 million	$1.07	56.47

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

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and target prices for Intrepid Potash and Nutrien, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Intrepid Potash	1	0	0	0	1.00
Nutrien	2	8	7	1	2.39

Intrepid Potash presently has a consensus target price of $19.00, suggesting a potential downside of 48.13%. Nutrien has a consensus target price of $62.12, suggesting a potential upside of 2.80%. Given Nutrien’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Nutrien is more favorable than Intrepid Potash.

Summary

Nutrien beats Intrepid Potash on 13 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

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.

About Nutrien

Nutrien Ltd. provides crop inputs and services. The company operates through four segments: Retail, Potash, Nitrogen, and Phosphate. The Retail segment distributes crop nutrients, crop protection products, seeds, and merchandise products. The Potash segment provides granular and standard potash products. The Nitrogen segment offers ammonia, urea, environmentally smart nitrogen, nitrogen solutions, nitrates, and sulfates. The Phosphate segment provides solid fertilizer, liquid fertilizer, and industrial and feed products. In addition, it provides services directly to growers through a network of farm centers in North America, South America, and Australia. The company is headquartered in Saskatoon, Canada.