Analyzing U.S. Gold (NASDAQ:USAU) and Lundin Mining (OTC:LUNMF)

Lundin Mining (OTC:LUNMF) and U.S. Gold (NASDAQ:USAU) are both basic materials companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their risk, institutional ownership, earnings, dividends, valuation, analyst recommendations and profitability.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Lundin Mining and U.S. Gold”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Lundin Mining	$3.39 billion	2.22	$241.56 million	$0.36	24.08
U.S. Gold	N/A	N/A	-$6.90 million	($1.00)	-9.01

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

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings and recommmendations for Lundin Mining and U.S. Gold, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Lundin Mining	0	1	0	0	2.00
U.S. Gold	0	0	2	1	3.33

U.S. Gold has a consensus target price of $11.50, suggesting a potential upside of 27.71%. Given U.S. Gold’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe U.S. Gold is more favorable than Lundin Mining.

Profitability

This table compares Lundin Mining and U.S. Gold’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Lundin Mining	6.63%	5.02%	2.92%
U.S. Gold	N/A	-59.61%	-42.24%

Institutional and Insider Ownership

0.1% of Lundin Mining shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 6.6% of U.S. Gold shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.4% of Lundin Mining shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 9.8% of U.S. Gold shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Volatility & Risk

Lundin Mining has a beta of 1.46, meaning that its share price is 46% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, U.S. Gold has a beta of 1.56, meaning that its share price is 56% more volatile than the S&P 500.

About Lundin Mining

LUNDIN MINING CORPORATION is a rapidly growing, diversified base metals mining company with operations in Portugal, Spain, Sweden and Ireland. The Company currently has six mines in operation producing copper, nickel, lead and zinc. In addition, Lundin Mining holds a development project pipeline which includes the world class Tenke Fungurume copper cobalt project in the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Ozernoe zinc project in Russia. The Company holds an extensive exploration portfolio and interests in international mining and exploration ventures.

About U.S. 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.