Comparing Agnico Eagle Mines Limited (AEM) and Newmont Mining Corporation (NEM)

Newmont Mining Corporation (NYSE: NEM) and Agnico Eagle Mines Limited (NYSE:AEM) are both large-cap basic materials companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, institutional ownership, dividends, risk, earnings, analyst recommendations and valuation.

Volatility and Risk

Newmont Mining Corporation has a beta of 0.21, suggesting that its share price is 79% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Agnico Eagle Mines Limited has a beta of -0.67, suggesting that its share price is 167% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Newmont Mining Corporation and Agnico Eagle Mines Limited’s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	EBITDA	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Newmont Mining Corporation	$7.11 billion	2.68	$2.76 billion	($0.90)	-39.74
Agnico Eagle Mines Limited	$2.21 billion	4.78	$932.83 million	$1.09	41.90

Newmont Mining Corporation has higher revenue and earnings than Agnico Eagle Mines Limited. Newmont Mining Corporation is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Agnico Eagle Mines Limited, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Dividends

Newmont Mining Corporation pays an annual dividend of $0.20 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.6%. Agnico Eagle Mines Limited pays an annual dividend of $0.40 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.9%. Newmont Mining Corporation pays out -22.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Agnico Eagle Mines Limited pays out 36.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Agnico Eagle Mines Limited has increased its dividend for 5 consecutive years. Agnico Eagle Mines Limited is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Profitability

This table compares Newmont Mining Corporation and Agnico Eagle Mines Limited’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Newmont Mining Corporation	-6.73%	6.67%	3.82%
Agnico Eagle Mines Limited	11.32%	5.38%	3.40%

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings for Newmont Mining Corporation and Agnico Eagle Mines Limited, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Newmont Mining Corporation	1	6	11	0	2.56
Agnico Eagle Mines Limited	1	3	6	0	2.50

Newmont Mining Corporation currently has a consensus price target of $41.87, indicating a potential upside of 17.05%. Agnico Eagle Mines Limited has a consensus price target of $55.36, indicating a potential upside of 21.21%. Given Agnico Eagle Mines Limited’s higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Agnico Eagle Mines Limited is more favorable than Newmont Mining Corporation.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

82.2% of Newmont Mining Corporation shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 60.3% of Agnico Eagle Mines Limited shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.3% of Newmont Mining Corporation shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.5% of Agnico Eagle Mines Limited shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Newmont Mining Corporation beats Agnico Eagle Mines Limited on 9 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Newmont Mining Corporation

Newmont Mining Corporation is a mining company, which is focused on the production of and exploration for gold and copper. The Company is primarily a gold producer with operations and/or assets in the United States, Australia, Peru, Ghana and Suriname. The Company’s segments include North America, South America, Asia Pacific and Africa. The Company’s North America segment consists primarily of Carlin, Phoenix, Twin Creeks and Long Canyon in the state of Nevada, and Cripple Creek &Victor (CC&V) in the state of Colorado, in the United States. The Company’s South America segment consists primarily of Yanacocha in Peru and Merian in Suriname. The Company’s Asia Pacific segment consists primarily of Boddington, Tanami and Kalgoorlie in Australia. The Company’s Africa segment consists primarily of Ahafo and Akyem in Ghana. As of December 31, 2016, it had gold reserves of 68.5 million ounces and an aggregate land position of approximately 23,000 square miles (59,000 square kilometers).

About Agnico Eagle Mines Limited

Agnico Eagle Mines Limited is a gold producer with mining operations in northwestern Quebec, northern Mexico, northern Finland and Nunavut and exploration activities in Canada, Europe, Latin America and the United States. The Company operates through three business units. The Northern Business consists of its operations in Canada and Finland. The Company’s Canadian properties include the LaRonde mine, the Lapa mine, the Goldex mine, the Meadowbank mine and the Meliadine project, and Canadian Malartic Mine. The operations in Finland include the Kittila mine. The Southern Business consists of its operations in Mexico. Its Pinos Altos mine includes the Creston Mascota deposit. The La India mine is owned by its indirect subsidiary. Its Exploration group focuses on the identification of new mineral reserves and mineral resources, and new development opportunities in gold producing regions. Its exploration activities are concentrated in Canada, Europe, Latin America and the United States.