Pan American Silver Corp. (PAAS) & Coeur Mining (CDE) Critical Review

Pan American Silver Corp. (NASDAQ: PAAS) and Coeur Mining (NYSE:CDE) are both basic materials companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, risk, earnings, profitabiliy, valuation, dividends and institutional ownership.

Risk and Volatility

Pan American Silver Corp. has a beta of 0.29, suggesting that its stock price is 71% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Coeur Mining has a beta of 0.57, suggesting that its stock price is 43% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

50.0% of Pan American Silver Corp. shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 68.1% of Coeur Mining shares are owned by institutional investors. 12.9% of Pan American Silver Corp. shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 1.3% of Coeur Mining shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings and target prices for Pan American Silver Corp. and Coeur Mining, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Pan American Silver Corp.	0	5	4	0	2.44
Coeur Mining	0	3	5	0	2.63

Pan American Silver Corp. presently has a consensus price target of $20.00, indicating a potential upside of 13.44%. Coeur Mining has a consensus price target of $11.79, indicating a potential upside of 52.54%. Given Coeur Mining’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Coeur Mining is more favorable than Pan American Silver Corp..

Profitability

This table compares Pan American Silver Corp. and Coeur Mining’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Pan American Silver Corp.	14.56%	6.13%	4.58%
Coeur Mining	9.65%	10.44%	5.71%

Dividends

Pan American Silver Corp. pays an annual dividend of $0.10 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.6%. Coeur Mining does not pay a dividend. Pan American Silver Corp. pays out 13.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Pan American Silver Corp. and Coeur Mining’s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	EBITDA	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Pan American Silver Corp.	$815.19 million	3.31	$294.08 million	$0.77	22.90
Coeur Mining	$714.88 million	1.96	$187.25 million	$0.43	17.98

Pan American Silver Corp. has higher revenue and earnings than Coeur Mining. Coeur Mining 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.

About Pan American Silver Corp.

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.

About Coeur Mining

Coeur Mining, Inc. is a gold and silver producer. The Company has its mines located in the United States, Mexico, and Bolivia and exploration projects in Mexico and Argentina. Its segments include Palmarejo, Rochester, Kensington, Wharf, San Bartolome mines, Coeur Capital and Other. The Palmarejo complex is located in the state of Chihuahua, Mexico. The Rochester mine is located in Pershing County, Nevada, approximately 13 miles northeast of the city of Lovelock. The Kensington underground gold mine and associated milling facilities are located on the east side of the Lynn Canal over 45 miles north-northwest of Juneau, Alaska. The Wharf mine is located in the northern Black Hills of western South Dakota. The San Bartolome silver mine is located on the flanks of the Cerro Rico Mountain bordering the town of Potosi, in the department of Potosi, Bolivia. Coeur Capital segment consists of the Endeavor silver stream. The Other segment includes the La Preciosa project and Joaquin project.