Sandstorm Gold (NYSE:SAND) and Gold Reserve (OTCMKTS:GDRZF) Head to Head Survey

Sandstorm Gold (NYSE:SAND) and Gold Reserve (OTCMKTS:GDRZF) are both basic materials companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, valuation, dividends, institutional ownership, earnings, risk and analyst recommendations.

Profitability

This table compares Sandstorm Gold and Gold Reserve’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Sandstorm Gold	15.80%	2.00%	1.56%
Gold Reserve	N/A	-38.97%	-31.01%

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current recommendations and price targets for Sandstorm Gold and Gold Reserve, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Sandstorm Gold	0	2	4	0	2.67
Gold Reserve	0	0	0	0	0.00

Sandstorm Gold presently has a consensus target price of $9.25, suggesting a potential downside of 4.24%. Given Sandstorm Gold’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Sandstorm Gold is more favorable than Gold Reserve.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

52.0% of Sandstorm Gold shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.5% of Sandstorm Gold shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 12.8% of Gold Reserve shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Sandstorm Gold and Gold Reserve”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Sandstorm Gold	$176.28 million	16.07	$14.29 million	$0.10	96.60
Gold Reserve	$3.11 million	102.75	-$15.19 million	($0.21)	-15.29

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

Summary

Sandstorm Gold beats Gold Reserve on 11 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Sandstorm Gold

Sandstorm Gold Ltd. operates as a gold royalty company. The company focuses on acquiring royalties and gold and other metals purchase agreements from companies that have advanced stage operating mines. It offers upfront payments for companies to acquire a stream and receives the right to purchase a percentage of a mine's production for the life of the mine. The company has a portfolio of 243 streams and royalties. It primarily has operations in Canada, Mexico, the United States, Mongolia, Burkina Faso, Ecuador, South Africa, Ghana, Botswana, Cote D'Ivoire, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Peru, Egypt, Ethiopia, Guyana, Paraguay, French Guiana, Turkey, Sweden, Fiji, and Australia. The company was formerly known as Sandstorm Resources Ltd. and changed its name to Sandstorm Gold Ltd. in February 2011. Sandstorm Gold Ltd. was incorporated in 2007 and is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada.

About Gold Reserve

Gold Reserve Inc., an exploration stage company, engages in evaluating, acquiring, exploring, and developing mineral properties. It also holds interests in LMS Gold project located in Alaska, the United States. The company was founded in 1956 and is based in Spokane, Washington.