Contrasting Harmony Gold Mining (NYSE:HMY) and Franklin Mining (OTCMKTS:FMNJ)

Franklin Mining (OTCMKTS:FMNJ) and Harmony Gold Mining (NYSE:HMY) are both basic materials companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, dividends, risk, institutional ownership, valuation, profitability and analyst recommendations.

Volatility and Risk

Franklin Mining has a beta of 0.55, indicating that its stock price is 45% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Harmony Gold Mining has a beta of 1.79, indicating that its stock price is 79% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

31.8% of Harmony Gold Mining shares are owned by institutional investors. 20.0% of Franklin Mining shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 16.0% of Harmony Gold Mining shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and price targets for Franklin Mining and Harmony Gold Mining, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Franklin Mining	0	0	0	0	N/A
Harmony Gold Mining	1	2	0	0	1.67

Harmony Gold Mining has a consensus price target of $8.20, suggesting a potential downside of 28.73%. Given Harmony Gold Mining’s higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Harmony Gold Mining is more favorable than Franklin Mining.

Profitability

This table compares Franklin Mining and Harmony Gold Mining’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Franklin Mining	N/A	N/A	N/A
Harmony Gold Mining	N/A	N/A	N/A

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Franklin Mining and Harmony Gold Mining”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Franklin Mining	N/A	N/A	-$430,000.00	($0.03)	-0.04
Harmony Gold Mining	$61.38 billion	0.12	$459.40 million	$1.39	8.28

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

Summary

Harmony Gold Mining beats Franklin Mining on 7 of the 8 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Franklin Mining

Franklin Mining, Inc., a mining and exploration company, acquires and develops mineral properties. The company explores for gold, silver, lead, and zinc deposits. It owns interests in the La Joya mining concession in Bolivia; and Madre de Dios Area, Ch-Mine, and Los Totems project in Peru. The company was formerly known as WCM Capital, Inc. Franklin Mining, Inc. was founded in 1864 and is based in Carson City, Nevada.

About Harmony Gold Mining

Harmony Gold Mining Company Limited engages in the exploration, extraction, and processing of gold. The company explores for uranium, silver, copper, and molybdenum deposits. It has eight underground operations in the Witwatersrand Basin; an open-pit mine on the Kraaipan Greenstone Belt; and various surface source operations in South Africa. In addition, the company owns interests in the Hidden Valley, an open-pit gold and silver mine; and the Wafi-Golpu project located in Morobe Province in Papua New Guinea. Further, it holds interest in Rosby and Eva Copper Project located in Queensland, Australia. Harmony Gold Mining Company Limited was incorporated in 1950 and is headquartered in Randfontein, South Africa.