Head to Head Contrast: Augusta Gold (OTCMKTS:BFGCD) and Cleveland-Cliffs (NYSE:CLF)

Cleveland-Cliffs (NYSE:CLF) and Augusta Gold (OTCMKTS:BFGCD) are both basic materials companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, analyst recommendations, earnings, risk, profitability, valuation and institutional ownership.

Volatility and Risk

Cleveland-Cliffs has a beta of 1.98, suggesting that its stock price is 98% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Augusta Gold has a beta of 1.19, suggesting that its stock price is 19% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Cleveland-Cliffs and Augusta Gold’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Cleveland-Cliffs	0.21%	4.94%	2.21%
Augusta Gold	N/A	N/A	N/A

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and price targets for Cleveland-Cliffs and Augusta Gold, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Cleveland-Cliffs	2	5	2	1	2.20
Augusta Gold	0	0	0	0	N/A

Cleveland-Cliffs presently has a consensus target price of $17.56, suggesting a potential upside of 32.05%. Given Cleveland-Cliffs’ higher probable upside, equities analysts plainly believe Cleveland-Cliffs is more favorable than Augusta Gold.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

67.7% of Cleveland-Cliffs shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.8% of Cleveland-Cliffs shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 13.0% of Augusta Gold shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Cleveland-Cliffs and Augusta Gold”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Cleveland-Cliffs	$21.01 billion	0.30	$399.00 million	$0.74	17.97
Augusta Gold	N/A	N/A	N/A	($0.12)	-5.50

Cleveland-Cliffs has higher revenue and earnings than Augusta Gold. Augusta Gold is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Cleveland-Cliffs, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

Cleveland-Cliffs beats Augusta Gold on 11 of the 12 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Cleveland-Cliffs

Cleveland-Cliffs is the largest flat-rolled steel company and the largest iron ore pellet producer in North America. The company is vertically integrated from mining through iron making, steelmaking, rolling, finishing and downstream with hot and cold stamping of steel parts and components. The company was formerly known as Cliffs Natural Resources Inc. and changed its name to Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. in August 2017. Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. was founded in 1847 and is headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio.

About Augusta Gold

Augusta Gold Corp., a junior exploration company, engages in the acquisition and exploration of mineral properties in the United States. It primarily explores for gold, silver, and other metals. The company holds interests in the Bullfrog gold project located in the Bullfrog Hills of Nye County, Nevada. It also owns, controls, or has acquired mineral rights on Federal patented and unpatented mining claims in the state of Nevada for the purpose of exploration and potential development of metals on a total of approximately 7,800 acres of land. The company was formerly known as Bullfrog Gold Corp. and changed its name to Augusta Gold Corp. in January 2021. Augusta Gold Corp. was incorporated in 2007 and is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada.