Compass Minerals International, Inc. (NYSE:CMP)

weiwentg (98.14) Submitted: 11/4/2006 10:31:53 AM : Start Price: $27.51 CMP Score: +162.25

Compass Minerals mines salt. Yes, that's boring. It's also quite profitable, at least for this company. They're one of the 3 largest salt producers in North America, and can realize economies of scale that give it a cost edge over competitors. Salt demand may be seasonal, but it is not cyclical, and it is easy to predict. CMP pays a healthy and growing dividend. An income investor or a small cap investor would definitely want the stock.

I am glad to see that they negotiated a contract with the union at their largest mine, Goderich. The strike did damage them, but CMP did get a price increase which offset the damage. I hope they and their unions will maintain amicable regulations. Also, there are potential concerns with environmental laws. They have already reached settlements with US government agencies at several sites.

In real life, the latter is of the greatest concern to me. I've used the Know What You Own program at Calvert, which enables you to run Calvert's various social and environmental screens on the holdings of whatever funds are in their database. Compass Minerals does not - yet - fail Calvert's environmental (or other) screens.

mweav (98.80) Submitted: 10/16/2006 4:46:30 PM : Start Price: $26.46 CMP Score: +172.28

Slow and steady wins the race

tiktock (79.29) Submitted: 10/13/2006 9:37:31 AM : Start Price: $26.19 CMP Score: +174.97

Strong financials and a good moat.

deucegigs (68.18) Submitted: 9/22/2006 10:21:16 PM : Start Price: $23.60 CMP Score: +200.02

-- 4 Star rated by Morningstar
-- Current yield of 3.3%
-- Salt sales expected to rise by 5%-6% per year
-- Minimal competition in the U.S.
-- Refinancing of debt can add to earnings.

Oxaloacetate (75.74) Submitted: 9/13/2006 11:58:13 PM : Start Price: $23.79 CMP Score: +199.26

Tops in its field