Analyzing McEwen Mining (NYSE:MUX) & U.S. GoldMining (NASDAQ:USGO)

U.S. GoldMining (NASDAQ:USGO) and McEwen Mining (NYSE:MUX) are both small-cap basic materials companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, dividends, analyst recommendations, risk, institutional ownership, earnings and valuation.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

0.5% of U.S. GoldMining shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 17.0% of McEwen Mining shares are held by institutional investors. 2.0% of U.S. GoldMining shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 17.1% of McEwen Mining shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Risk & Volatility

U.S. GoldMining has a beta of 2.17, meaning that its stock price is 117% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, McEwen Mining has a beta of 1.43, meaning that its stock price is 43% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and recommmendations for U.S. GoldMining and McEwen Mining, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
U.S. GoldMining	0	0	1	0	3.00
McEwen Mining	0	0	2	0	3.00

U.S. GoldMining presently has a consensus target price of $24.00, indicating a potential upside of 190.91%. McEwen Mining has a consensus target price of $15.63, indicating a potential upside of 85.57%. Given U.S. GoldMining’s higher probable upside, research analysts plainly believe U.S. GoldMining is more favorable than McEwen Mining.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
U.S. GoldMining	N/A	N/A	N/A
McEwen Mining	51.31%	20.77%	15.70%

Valuation and Earnings

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

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
U.S. GoldMining	N/A	N/A	-$9.36 million	N/A	N/A
McEwen Mining	$166.23 million	2.68	$55.30 million	$2.19	3.84

McEwen Mining has higher revenue and earnings than U.S. GoldMining.

Summary

McEwen Mining beats U.S. GoldMining on 8 of the 10 factors compared between the two stocks.

About U.S. GoldMining

U.S. GoldMining Inc., an exploration stage company, engages in the exploration and development of mineral properties in the United States. The company's primary asset is the 100%-owned Whistler exploration property, a gold-copper exploration project comprising mining claims totaling 53,700 acres located in Yentna Mining District, Alaska. The company was incorporated in 2015 and is based in Vancouver, Canada. U.S. GoldMining Inc. operates as a subsidiary of GoldMining Inc.

About McEwen Mining

McEwen Mining Inc. engages in the exploration, development, production, and sale of gold and silver. It also explores for copper deposits. The company owns 100% interests in the El Gallo and Fenix projects located in Mexico; and the Black Fox Mine and Stock Mill, Grey Fox, and Froome and Tamarack properties in Canada. It also owns interests in the Fuller, Davidson-Tisdale, Buffalo Ankerite, and Paymaster exploration properties located in Canada; and a 49% interest in the San José mine located in Argentina. In addition, the company owns 100% interests in the Gold Bar and Tonkin properties located in Eureka County, Nevada; and interests in the Los Azules copper project located in the cordilleran region in the province of San Juan, Argentina. The company was formerly known as US Gold Corporation and changed its name to McEwen Mining Inc. in January 2012. McEwen Mining Inc. was founded in 1979 and is headquartered in Toronto, Canada.