Andrew Willis: While “Winter is Coming” might remind you of Game of Thrones, it still has some significant meaning for drivers when the snow hits the roads once again. And among the key real-life defenders here… salt companies, are melting the icy dangers of the North, and making good money doing it.
Compass Minerals (CMP) is one of the leading producers of salt – after all, it has the world’s largest salt mine. And it’s currently trading at a deep discount to our fair value estimate, all while it has already sold 75% of its contracts for the upcoming de-icing season.
The market may not be appreciating the opportunity here because Compass is being hit by cost inflation like so many companies, but as strategist Seth Goldstein notes – de-icing prices will also be rising. As a result, we expect profits to be sharply higher next year, suggesting this company is well worth its salt.
From Morningstar, I’m Andrew Willis.