Silver Standard Resources (NASDAQ: SSRI) and Pan American Silver Corp. (NASDAQ:PAAS) are both basic materials companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, valuation, institutional ownership, earnings, dividends, analyst recommendations and profitabiliy.
Insider & Institutional Ownership
46.8% of Silver Standard Resources shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 50.1% of Pan American Silver Corp. shares are owned by institutional investors. 12.9% of Pan American Silver Corp. shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.
Dividends
Pan American Silver Corp. pays an annual dividend of $0.10 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.6%. Silver Standard Resources does not pay a dividend. Pan American Silver Corp. pays out 13.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend.
Valuation and Earnings
This table compares Silver Standard Resources and Pan American Silver Corp.’s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | EBITDA | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Silver Standard Resources | $507.38 million | 2.31 | $210.18 million | $0.68 | 14.40 |
| Pan American Silver Corp. | $815.19 million | 3.17 | $294.08 million | $0.77 | 21.92 |
Pan American Silver Corp. has higher revenue and earnings than Silver Standard Resources. Silver Standard Resources is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Pan American Silver Corp., indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Analyst Ratings
This is a summary of recent recommendations for Silver Standard Resources and Pan American Silver Corp., as provided by MarketBeat.com.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Silver Standard Resources | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 2.50 |
| Pan American Silver Corp. | 0 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 2.44 |
Silver Standard Resources currently has a consensus price target of $14.25, indicating a potential upside of 45.56%. Pan American Silver Corp. has a consensus price target of $20.00, indicating a potential upside of 18.48%. Given Silver Standard Resources’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Silver Standard Resources is more favorable than Pan American Silver Corp..
Profitability
This table compares Silver Standard Resources and Pan American Silver Corp.’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Silver Standard Resources | 15.31% | 12.15% | 7.67% |
| Pan American Silver Corp. | 14.56% | 6.13% | 4.58% |
Risk and Volatility
Silver Standard Resources has a beta of -0.11, indicating that its share price is 111% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Pan American Silver Corp. has a beta of 0.29, indicating that its share price is 71% less volatile than the S&P 500.
Summary
Pan American Silver Corp. beats Silver Standard Resources on 10 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.
Silver Standard Resources Company Profile
Silver Standard Resources Inc. is a resource company. The Company is engaged in the operation, acquisition, exploration and development of precious metal resource properties located in the Americas. The Company’s segments include Pirquitas mine, Marigold mine, Seabee Gold Operation, and Exploration and evaluation properties. The Company has three producing mines and a portfolio of silver resource dominant projects located throughout the Americas. The Company is focused on silver production from the Pirquitas mine in Argentina and gold production from the Marigold mine in Nevada, the United States. The Company’s other projects include Seabee Gold Operation in Saskatchewan, Canada and Pirquitas mine in Jujuy, Argentina. The Marigold mine produced approximately 205,116 ounces of gold. The Seabee Gold Operation produced approximately 77,640 ounces of gold. The Pirquitas mine produced approximately 10.4 million ounces of silver.
Pan American Silver Corp. Company Profile
Pan American Silver Corp. is a silver production company. The Company is principally engaged in the operation and development of, and exploration for, silver producing properties. The Company’s segments include Peru, Mexico, Argentina and Bolivia. The Company also produces and sells gold, zinc, lead and copper. The Company’s operating properties in Mexico include La Colorada Mine, Dolores and Alamo Dorado. The Company’s operating properties in Peru include Huaron Mine and Morococha Mine. The Company’s operating properties in Bolivia include San Vicente. The Company’s operating properties in Argentina include Manantial Espejo. The Company’s development properties include Navidad Property. The La Colorada underground silver mine is located in the Chalchihuites district in Zacatecas State, Mexico, approximately 99 kilometers south of Durango and 156 kilometers northwest of Zacatecas. The La Colorada consists of approximately 60 claims totaling approximately 8,400 hectares.
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