US Gold (NASDAQ:USAU – Get Free Report) and Sandstorm Gold (NYSE:SAND – Get Free Report) are both basic materials companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, analyst recommendations, profitability, institutional ownership, valuation, earnings and dividends.
Insider & Institutional Ownership
6.6% of US Gold shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 52.0% of Sandstorm Gold shares are held by institutional investors. 11.1% of US Gold shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 1.5% of Sandstorm Gold shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.
Volatility & Risk
US Gold has a beta of 1.2, meaning that its share price is 20% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Sandstorm Gold has a beta of 0.51, meaning that its share price is 49% less volatile than the S&P 500.
Analyst Recommendations
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| US Gold | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2.50 |
| Sandstorm Gold | 1 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 2.38 |
US Gold presently has a consensus target price of $17.33, indicating a potential upside of 3.73%. Sandstorm Gold has a consensus target price of $10.15, indicating a potential downside of 16.50%. Given US Gold’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, research analysts clearly believe US Gold is more favorable than Sandstorm Gold.
Profitability
This table compares US Gold and Sandstorm Gold’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| US Gold | N/A | -73.81% | -50.64% |
| Sandstorm Gold | 17.78% | 2.38% | 1.87% |
Earnings & Valuation
This table compares US Gold and Sandstorm Gold”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| US Gold | N/A | N/A | -$20.56 million | ($1.53) | -10.92 |
| Sandstorm Gold | $193.59 million | 18.52 | $14.29 million | $0.12 | 101.29 |
Sandstorm Gold has higher revenue and earnings than US Gold. US Gold 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 US Gold on 9 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.
About US Gold
U.S. Gold Corp. engages in the exploration and development of gold and precious metals in the United States. It also explores for copper and silver deposits. The company holds 100% interests in the CK Gold project, which consists of various mining leases and other mineral rights covering approximately 1,120 acres in Laramie County, Wyoming; the Keystone project that consists of 601 unpatented lode mining claims covering approximately 20 square miles in Eureka County, Nevada; and the Challis Gold project, which consists of 77 unpatented lode mining claims covering approximately 1,710 acres in Lemhi County, Idaho. It also has earn-in agreement to acquire a 50% ownership interest in the Maggie Creek project located in Eureka County, Nevada. The company was formerly known as Dataram Corporation and changed its name to U.S. Gold Corp. in June 2017. U.S. Gold Corp. is based in Elko, Nevada.
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.
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