Head-To-Head Contrast: Wheaton Precious Metals (NYSE:WPM) versus i-80 Gold (NYSE:IAUX)

i-80 Gold (NYSE:IAUX) and Wheaton Precious Metals (NYSE:WPM) are both basic materials companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, institutional ownership, earnings, valuation, profitability, analyst recommendations and risk.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares i-80 Gold and Wheaton Precious Metals”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
i-80 Gold	$52.94 million	4.74	-$65.20 million	($0.36)	-1.58
Wheaton Precious Metals	$1.28 billion	27.15	$537.64 million	$1.16	66.29

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

Risk and Volatility

i-80 Gold has a beta of 1.13, suggesting that its stock price is 13% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Wheaton Precious Metals has a beta of 0.77, suggesting that its stock price is 23% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

61.3% of i-80 Gold shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 70.3% of Wheaton Precious Metals shares are owned by institutional investors. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares i-80 Gold and Wheaton Precious Metals’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
i-80 Gold	-231.43%	-21.18%	-12.67%
Wheaton Precious Metals	50.05%	8.85%	8.74%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and recommmendations for i-80 Gold and Wheaton Precious Metals, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
i-80 Gold	0	2	0	1	2.67
Wheaton Precious Metals	0	0	9	1	3.10

i-80 Gold presently has a consensus target price of $3.50, suggesting a potential upside of 516.96%. Wheaton Precious Metals has a consensus target price of $72.44, suggesting a potential downside of 5.78%. Given i-80 Gold’s higher possible upside, equities analysts plainly believe i-80 Gold is more favorable than Wheaton Precious Metals.

Summary

Wheaton Precious Metals beats i-80 Gold on 11 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

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.

About Wheaton Precious Metals

Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. primarily sells precious metals in North America, Europe, and South America. It produces and sells gold, silver, palladium, and cobalt deposits. The company was formerly known as Silver Wheaton Corp. and changed its name to Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. in May 2017. Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. was founded in 2004 and is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada.