Head-To-Head Review: Gatos Silver (NYSE:GATO) & Kinross Gold (NYSE:KGC)

Kinross Gold (NYSE:KGC) and Gatos Silver (NYSE:GATO) are both basic materials companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, institutional ownership, profitability, risk, earnings, analyst recommendations and valuation.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current recommendations and price targets for Kinross Gold and Gatos Silver, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Kinross Gold	0	2	3	0	2.60
Gatos Silver	0	4	0	1	2.40

Kinross Gold presently has a consensus price target of $9.50, suggesting a potential downside of 4.76%. Gatos Silver has a consensus price target of $12.90, suggesting a potential downside of 28.65%. Given Kinross Gold’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Kinross Gold is more favorable than Gatos Silver.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

63.7% of Kinross Gold shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 44.8% of Gatos Silver shares are held by institutional investors. 1.0% of Kinross Gold shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 3.8% of Gatos Silver shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares Kinross Gold and Gatos Silver’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Kinross Gold	10.91%	9.32%	5.52%
Gatos Silver	N/A	7.41%	7.03%

Volatility and Risk

Kinross Gold has a beta of 1.24, suggesting that its share price is 24% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Gatos Silver has a beta of 2.1, suggesting that its share price is 110% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Kinross Gold and Gatos Silver”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Kinross Gold	$4.24 billion	2.89	$416.30 million	$0.41	24.33
Gatos Silver	N/A	N/A	$12.86 million	$0.40	45.20

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

Summary

Kinross Gold beats Gatos Silver on 9 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Kinross Gold

Kinross Gold Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the acquisition, exploration, and development of gold properties principally in the United States, Brazil, Chile, Canada, and Mauritania. The company operates the Fort Knox mine and the Manh Choh project in Alaska, as well as the Round Mountain and the Bald Mountain mines in Nevada, the United States; the Paracatu mine in Brazil; the La Coipa and the Lobo-Marte project in Chile; the Tasiast mine in Mauritania; and the Great Bear project in Canada. It is also involved in the extraction and processing of gold-containing ores; reclamation of gold mining properties; and production and sale of silver. Kinross Gold Corporation was founded in 1993 and is headquartered in Toronto, Canada.

About Gatos Silver

Gatos Silver, Inc. engages in the exploration, development, and production of precious metals. It primarily explores for silver deposits. The company also explores for zinc, lead, copper, and gold ores. Its flagship asset is the Los Gatos District, including the Cerro Los Gatos mine in Chihuahua, Mexico. The company was formerly known as Sunshine Silver Mining & Refining Corporation and changed its name to Gatos Silver, Inc. in October 2020. Gatos Silver, Inc. was incorporated in 2009 and is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada.