Analyzing Surge Battery Metals (OTCMKTS:NILIF) & Alpha Metallurgical Resources (NYSE:AMR)

Alpha Metallurgical Resources (NYSE:AMR) and Surge Battery Metals (OTCMKTS:NILIF) are both small-cap basic materials companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, earnings, profitability, institutional ownership, dividends, valuation and risk.

Volatility & Risk

Alpha Metallurgical Resources has a beta of 0.59, indicating that its stock price is 41% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Surge Battery Metals has a beta of 0.5, indicating that its stock price is 50% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings for Alpha Metallurgical Resources and Surge Battery Metals, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Alpha Metallurgical Resources	0	2	1	0	2.33
Surge Battery Metals	0	0	0	0	0.00

Alpha Metallurgical Resources presently has a consensus price target of $160.50, suggesting a potential upside of 10.45%. Given Alpha Metallurgical Resources’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, research analysts plainly believe Alpha Metallurgical Resources is more favorable than Surge Battery Metals.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Alpha Metallurgical Resources and Surge Battery Metals”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Alpha Metallurgical Resources	$2.96 billion	0.64	$187.58 million	($2.85)	-50.99
Surge Battery Metals	N/A	N/A	-$7.19 million	($0.04)	-4.35

Alpha Metallurgical Resources has higher revenue and earnings than Surge Battery Metals. Alpha Metallurgical Resources is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Surge Battery Metals, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares Alpha Metallurgical Resources and Surge Battery Metals’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Alpha Metallurgical Resources	-1.57%	-2.28%	-1.54%
Surge Battery Metals	N/A	-67.59%	-65.74%

Insider & Institutional Ownership

84.3% of Alpha Metallurgical Resources shares are owned by institutional investors. 16.0% of Alpha Metallurgical Resources shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

Alpha Metallurgical Resources beats Surge Battery Metals on 10 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Alpha Metallurgical Resources

Alpha Metallurgical Resources, Inc., a mining company, produces, processes, and sells met and thermal coal in Virginia and West Virginia. The company offers metallurgical coal products. It operates twenty-two active mines and nine coal preparation and load-out facilities. The company was formerly known as Contura Energy, Inc. and changed its name to Alpha Metallurgical Resources, Inc. in February 2021. Alpha Metallurgical Resources, Inc. was incorporated in 2016 and is headquartered in Bristol, Tennessee.

About Surge Battery Metals

Surge Battery Metals Inc., an exploration stage company, engages in the acquisition, exploration, and development of mineral properties in North America. It primarily explores for lithium and nickel. The company's flagship property is the 100% owned Nevada North lithium project consisting of 243 mineral claims located in Elko County, Nevada. The company was formerly known as Copper Creek Gold Corp. and changed its name to Surge Exploration Inc. in April 2018. Surge Battery Metals Inc. was incorporated in 1987 and is based in Vancouver, Canada.