Contrasting First Majestic Silver (NYSE:AG) and i-80 Gold (NYSE:IAUX)

i-80 Gold (NYSE:IAUX) and First Majestic Silver (NYSE:AG) are both small-cap basic materials companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, analyst recommendations, profitability, dividends, institutional ownership, earnings and valuation.

Profitability

This table compares i-80 Gold and First Majestic Silver’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
i-80 Gold	-231.43%	-21.18%	-12.67%
First Majestic Silver	-14.89%	-4.19%	-2.89%

Institutional and Insider Ownership

61.3% of i-80 Gold shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 27.2% of First Majestic Silver shares are held by institutional investors. 0.9% of First Majestic Silver 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.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent recommendations and price targets for i-80 Gold and First Majestic Silver, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
i-80 Gold	0	4	0	0	2.00
First Majestic Silver	0	1	1	0	2.50

i-80 Gold presently has a consensus price target of $3.50, indicating a potential upside of 485.38%. First Majestic Silver has a consensus price target of $7.50, indicating a potential upside of 26.05%. Given i-80 Gold’s higher possible upside, equities analysts clearly believe i-80 Gold is more favorable than First Majestic Silver.

Volatility & Risk

i-80 Gold has a beta of 1.17, indicating that its stock price is 17% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, First Majestic Silver has a beta of 1.25, indicating that its stock price is 25% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares i-80 Gold and First Majestic Silver”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
i-80 Gold	$52.94 million	3.39	-$65.20 million	($0.36)	-1.66
First Majestic Silver	$527.97 million	3.40	-$135.11 million	($0.27)	-22.04

i-80 Gold has higher earnings, but lower revenue than First Majestic Silver. First Majestic Silver is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than i-80 Gold, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

First Majestic Silver beats i-80 Gold on 10 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About i-80 Gold

i-80 Gold Corp. is a mining company, engages in the exploration, development and production of gold and silver mineral deposits principally in the United States. i-80 Gold Corp. is based in Reno, Nevada.

About First Majestic Silver

First Majestic Silver Corp. engages in the acquisition, exploration, development, and production of mineral properties with a focus on silver and gold production in North America. Its projects include the San Dimas mine covering an area of approximately 71,867 hectares located in Durango State, Mexico; the Santa Elena that covers an area of approximately 102,244 hectares located in Sonora State, México; and the La Encantada covering an area of approximately 4,076 hectares located in Coahuila State, México. The company was formerly known as First Majestic Resource Corp. and changed its name to First Majestic Silver Corp. in November 2006. First Majestic Silver Corp. was incorporated in 1979 and is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada.