AuRico Gold (NYSE: AUQ) and Wheaton Precious Metals Corp (NYSE:SLW) are both basic materials companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their profitabiliy, dividends, earnings, valuation, risk, analyst recommendations and institutional ownership.
Valuation & Earnings
This table compares AuRico Gold and Wheaton Precious Metals Corp’s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | EBITDA | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| AuRico Gold | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Wheaton Precious Metals Corp | N/A | N/A | N/A | $0.01 | 2,093.09 |
Institutional & Insider Ownership
49.2% of Wheaton Precious Metals Corp shares are owned by institutional investors. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.
Profitability
This table compares AuRico Gold and Wheaton Precious Metals Corp’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| AuRico Gold | -53.95% | -8.75% | -6.19% |
| Wheaton Precious Metals Corp | 30.93% | 4.95% | 4.01% |
Analyst Recommendations
This is a breakdown of current ratings and target prices for AuRico Gold and Wheaton Precious Metals Corp, as provided by MarketBeat.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| AuRico Gold | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | N/A |
| Wheaton Precious Metals Corp | 0 | 2 | 9 | 0 | 2.82 |
Wheaton Precious Metals Corp has a consensus price target of $27.70, indicating a potential upside of 32.47%. Given Wheaton Precious Metals Corp’s higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Wheaton Precious Metals Corp is more favorable than AuRico Gold.
Dividends
Wheaton Precious Metals Corp pays an annual dividend of $0.24 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.1%. AuRico Gold does not pay a dividend. Wheaton Precious Metals Corp pays out 2,402.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future.
Summary
Wheaton Precious Metals Corp beats AuRico Gold on 7 of the 8 factors compared between the two stocks.
AuRico Gold Company Profile
AuRico Gold Inc (AuRico Gold), is a gold producer with mines and projects in North America. The Company’s operations include the Young-Davidson mine in Ontario, Canada and the El Chanate mine in Sonora, Mexico. The Company’s project pipeline also includes exploration and development in Canada and Mexico. The Company owns the Young-Davidson mine, located near the town of Matachewan in Northern Ontario, Canada. The property consists of mineral leases and claims totaling 4,733 hectares. The Company owns the El Chanate mine, located 37 kilometers northeast of the town of Caborca in the state of Sonora, Mexico. El Chanate consists of an open pit mine with heap leach processing facilities. The Company’s Kemess Underground project is a gold and copper project located in north-central British Columbia, Canada, approximately 430 kilometers northwest of Prince George. The Company also has interest in Las Lajas Project and Santa Fe Project.
Wheaton Precious Metals Corp Company Profile
Wheaton Precious Metals Corp, formerly Silver Wheaton Corp, is a Canada-based pure precious metals streaming company engaged in the sale of silver and gold. The Company operates through eight segments: the silver produced by the San Dimas, Penasquito and Antamina mines, the gold produced by the Sudbury and Salobo mines, the silver and gold produced by the Constancia mine and the Other mines, and corporate operations. The Company has entered into long-term purchase agreements and early deposit long-term purchase agreement associated with silver and gold (precious metal purchase agreements), relating to mining assets, whereby Silver Wheaton acquires silver and gold production at various mines. The San Dimas gold-silver deposit is located in the San Dimas district on the border of Durango and Sinaloa states. The Company holds interest in Los Filos mine, Zinkgruvan mining operations, Stratoni mine, Keno Hill silver, Cozamin mine, Aljustrel mine, 777 mine and Constancia mines.
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