Analyzing Golden Minerals (NYSE:AUMN) & i-80 Gold (NYSE:IAUX)

Golden Minerals (NYSE:AUMN) and i-80 Gold (NYSE:IAUX) are both small-cap basic materials companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, institutional ownership, valuation, risk, earnings, analyst recommendations and profitability.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Golden Minerals and i-80 Gold”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Golden Minerals	$12.00 million	0.11	-$9.23 million	($0.52)	-0.17
i-80 Gold	$54.91 million	4.00	-$65.20 million	($0.36)	-1.51

Golden Minerals has higher earnings, but lower revenue than i-80 Gold. i-80 Gold is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Golden Minerals, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings and recommmendations for Golden Minerals and i-80 Gold, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Golden Minerals	0	0	1	0	3.00
i-80 Gold	0	3	0	1	2.50

Golden Minerals currently has a consensus price target of $1.50, suggesting a potential upside of 1,568.52%. i-80 Gold has a consensus price target of $3.50, suggesting a potential upside of 544.45%. Given Golden Minerals’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, research analysts clearly believe Golden Minerals is more favorable than i-80 Gold.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

13.4% of Golden Minerals shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 61.3% of i-80 Gold shares are owned by institutional investors. 5.0% of Golden Minerals shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Golden Minerals and i-80 Gold’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Golden Minerals	N/A	-1,051.75%	-57.22%
i-80 Gold	-231.43%	-21.18%	-12.67%

Volatility & Risk

Golden Minerals has a beta of 0.25, suggesting that its stock price is 75% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, i-80 Gold has a beta of 1.25, suggesting that its stock price is 25% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

i-80 Gold beats Golden Minerals on 8 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Golden Minerals

Golden Minerals Company, a precious metals exploration company explores for mineral properties in Argentina, Nevada, and Mexico. It explores for gold, silver, copper, zinc, lead, and other minerals. The company was formerly known as Apex Silver Mines Limited and changed its name to Golden Minerals Company in March 2009. Golden Minerals Company was founded in 1996 and is headquartered in Golden, Colorado.

About i-80 Gold

i-80 Gold Corp. is a mining company, engages in the exploration, development and production of gold and silver mineral deposits principally in the United States. i-80 Gold Corp. is based in Reno, Nevada.