Contrasting Intrepid Potash (NYSE:IPI) & Diamond Discoveries International (OTCMKTS:DMDD)

Intrepid Potash (NYSE:IPI) and Diamond Discoveries International (OTCMKTS:DMDD) are both basic materials companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, dividends, analyst recommendations, earnings, risk, profitability and valuation.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations and price targets for Intrepid Potash and Diamond Discoveries International, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Intrepid Potash	1	1	0	0	1.50
Diamond Discoveries International	0	0	0	0	0.00

Intrepid Potash presently has a consensus target price of $21.00, indicating a potential downside of 22.79%. Given Diamond Discoveries International’s higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Diamond Discoveries International is more favorable than Intrepid Potash.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Intrepid Potash and Diamond Discoveries International”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Intrepid Potash	$279.08 million	1.28	-$35.67 million	($3.35)	-8.12
Diamond Discoveries International	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A

Diamond Discoveries International has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Intrepid Potash.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Intrepid Potash	-16.86%	-1.32%	-1.14%
Diamond Discoveries International	N/A	N/A	N/A

Institutional and Insider Ownership

56.1% of Intrepid Potash shares are owned by institutional investors. 18.0% of Intrepid Potash shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

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 Diamond Discoveries International

Diamond Discoveries International Corp. operates as a mineral exploration company. It focuses on the exploration of diamonds, chromium, and gold; and platinum group elements, such as platinum, palladium, and rhodium on its Caribou Property in Thetford Mines, Quebec. The company was founded in 2000 and is based in New York, New York with an additional office in Thetford Mines, Canada. It also has executive offices in New York, New York; and Burlington, Canada.