Financial Contrast: North American Palladium (OTCMKTS:PALDF) & Western Copper & Gold (NYSE:WRN)

North American Palladium (OTCMKTS:PALDF) and Western Copper & Gold (NYSE:WRN) are both small-cap basic materials companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, institutional ownership, risk, valuation, dividends, earnings and analyst recommendations.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares North American Palladium and Western Copper & Gold”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
North American Palladium	$306.17 million	2.88	$91.96 million	N/A	N/A
Western Copper & Gold	N/A	N/A	-$2.47 million	($0.02)	-54.50

North American Palladium has higher revenue and earnings than Western Copper & Gold.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current recommendations and price targets for North American Palladium and Western Copper & Gold, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
North American Palladium	0	0	0	0	0.00
Western Copper & Gold	0	0	3	1	3.25

Western Copper & Gold has a consensus price target of $4.25, indicating a potential upside of 289.91%. Given Western Copper & Gold’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Western Copper & Gold is more favorable than North American Palladium.

Volatility & Risk

North American Palladium has a beta of 2.08, indicating that its stock price is 108% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Western Copper & Gold has a beta of 1.83, indicating that its stock price is 83% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares North American Palladium and Western Copper & Gold’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
North American Palladium	35.18%	24.49%	20.79%
Western Copper & Gold	N/A	-3.53%	-3.45%

Institutional & Insider Ownership

22.0% of Western Copper & Gold shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.0% of North American Palladium shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 4.6% of Western Copper & Gold shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

North American Palladium beats Western Copper & Gold on 7 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About North American Palladium

North American Palladium Ltd. produces precious metals in Canada. It explores for palladium, platinum, gold, nickel, copper, and other metals. It primarily holds interest in the Lac des Iles mine that is located to the northwest of Thunder Bay, Ontario. The company was founded in 1968 and is headquartered in Toronto, Canada.

About Western Copper & Gold

Western Copper & Gold Corp. operates as an exploration stage company, which engages in the acquisition, exploration, and future development of mineral resource properties. It currently focuses on the development of the Casino Project. The company was founded on March 17, 2006 and is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada.