Comparing Rio Tinto Group (NYSE:RIO) and Lithium Americas (Argentina) (NYSE:LAAC)

Rio Tinto Group (NYSE:RIO) and Lithium Americas (Argentina) (NYSE:LAAC) are both basic materials companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, profitability, dividends, risk and earnings.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Rio Tinto Group and Lithium Americas (Argentina)’s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Rio Tinto Group	$54.04 billion	1.60	$10.06 billion	N/A	N/A
Lithium Americas (Argentina)	N/A	N/A	$1.29 billion	$8.01	0.64

Rio Tinto Group has higher revenue and earnings than Lithium Americas (Argentina).

Insider and Institutional Ownership

19.3% of Rio Tinto Group shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 49.2% of Lithium Americas (Argentina) shares are held by institutional investors. 19.8% of Lithium Americas (Argentina) shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares Rio Tinto Group and Lithium Americas (Argentina)’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Rio Tinto Group	N/A	N/A	N/A
Lithium Americas (Argentina)	N/A	3.27%	2.66%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and price targets for Rio Tinto Group and Lithium Americas (Argentina), as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Rio Tinto Group	0	2	7	0	2.78
Lithium Americas (Argentina)	0	2	3	0	2.60

Rio Tinto Group presently has a consensus target price of $72.00, suggesting a potential upside of 4.44%. Lithium Americas (Argentina) has a consensus target price of $10.70, suggesting a potential upside of 108.98%. Given Lithium Americas (Argentina)’s higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Lithium Americas (Argentina) is more favorable than Rio Tinto Group.

Volatility and Risk

Rio Tinto Group has a beta of 0.68, indicating that its share price is 32% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Lithium Americas (Argentina) has a beta of 1.33, indicating that its share price is 33% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Lithium Americas (Argentina) beats Rio Tinto Group on 6 of the 10 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Rio Tinto Group

Rio Tinto Group engages in exploring, mining, and processing mineral resources worldwide. The company operates through Iron Ore, Aluminium, Copper, and Minerals Segments. The Iron Ore segment engages in the iron ore mining, and salt and gypsum production in Western Australia. The Aluminum segment is involved in bauxite mining; alumina refining; and aluminium smelting. The Copper segment engages in mining and refining of copper, gold, silver, molybdenum, and other by-products and exploration activities. The Minerals segment is involved in mining and processing of borates, titanium dioxide feedstock, and iron concentrate and pellets; diamond mining, sorting, and marketing; and development projects for battery materials, such as lithium. It also owns and operates open pit and underground mines; and refineries, smelters, processing plants and power, and shipping facilities. Rio Tinto Group was founded in 1873 and is headquartered in London, the United Kingdom.

About Lithium Americas (Argentina)

Lithium Americas (Argentina) Corp. operates as a resource company. The company explores for lithium deposits. The company owns interests in the Cauchari-Olaroz project located in Jujuy province of Argentina. It also has a pipeline of development and exploration stage projects, including the Pastos Grandes project and the Sal de la Puna project located in Salta Province in northwestern Argentina. Lithium Americas (Argentina) Corp. is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada.