Critical Contrast: Cameco (NYSE:CCJ) and NioCorp Developments (NASDAQ:NB)

Cameco (NYSE:CCJ) and NioCorp Developments (NASDAQ:NB) are both basic materials companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, valuation, institutional ownership, dividends, risk, analyst recommendations and earnings.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Cameco and NioCorp Developments”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Cameco	$2.49 billion	18.08	$421.96 million	$1.08	95.76
NioCorp Developments	N/A	N/A	-$17.41 million	($0.68)	-6.76

Cameco has higher revenue and earnings than NioCorp Developments. NioCorp Developments is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Cameco, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

70.2% of Cameco shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 4.0% of NioCorp Developments shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.0% of Cameco shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 8.2% of NioCorp Developments shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and recommmendations for Cameco and NioCorp Developments, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Cameco	0	5	11	0	2.69
NioCorp Developments	1	1	4	0	2.50

Cameco presently has a consensus price target of $147.42, suggesting a potential upside of 42.54%. NioCorp Developments has a consensus price target of $8.93, suggesting a potential upside of 94.02%. Given NioCorp Developments’ higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe NioCorp Developments is more favorable than Cameco.

Profitability

This table compares Cameco and NioCorp Developments’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Cameco	18.38%	11.05%	7.65%
NioCorp Developments	N/A	-12.69%	-11.11%

Risk & Volatility

Cameco has a beta of 0.99, meaning that its stock price is 1% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, NioCorp Developments has a beta of 0.21, meaning that its stock price is 79% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Cameco beats NioCorp Developments on 11 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Cameco

Cameco Corporation provides uranium for the generation of electricity. It operates through Uranium, Fuel Services, Westinghouse segments. The Uranium segment is involved in the exploration for, mining, and milling, purchase, and sale of uranium concentrate. The Fuel Services segment engages in the refining, conversion, and fabrication of uranium concentrate, as well as the purchase and sale of conversion services. This segment also produces CANDU reactor fuel bundles and other reactor components. The company offers nuclear fuel processing services. The Westinghouse segment engages in the manufacture of nuclear reactor technology original equipment. This segment provides products and services to commercial utilities and government agencies; and outage and maintenance services, engineering support, instrumentation and controls equipment, plant modification, and components and parts to nuclear reactors. It sells its uranium and fuel services to nuclear utilities in the Americas, Europe, and Asia. Cameco Corporation was incorporated in 1987 and is headquartered in Saskatoon, Canada.

About NioCorp Developments

NioCorp Developments Ltd. engages in the exploration and development of mineral deposits in North America. It owns and develops the Elk Creek niobium/scandium/titanium project that owns one 226.43-acre parcel of land and associated mineral rights, and an additional 40 acres of mineral rights, as well as an optioned land package that covers an area of 1,396 acres located in Johnson County, southeast Nebraska. The company was formerly known as Quantum Rare Earth Developments Corp. and changed its name to NioCorp Developments Ltd. in March 2013. NioCorp Developments Ltd. was incorporated in 1987 and is headquartered in Centennial, Colorado.