Critical Analysis: Eldorado Gold (NYSE:EGO) and Austin Gold (NYSE:AUST)

Austin Gold (NYSE:AUST) and Eldorado Gold (NYSE:EGO) are both basic materials companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, risk, earnings, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, profitability and dividends.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current recommendations and price targets for Austin Gold and Eldorado Gold, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Austin Gold	0	0	0	0	N/A
Eldorado Gold	0	4	1	0	2.20

Eldorado Gold has a consensus target price of $19.38, suggesting a potential upside of 11.54%. Given Eldorado Gold’s higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Eldorado Gold is more favorable than Austin Gold.

Volatility and Risk

Austin Gold has a beta of 1.4, suggesting that its stock price is 40% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Eldorado Gold has a beta of 0.95, suggesting that its stock price is 5% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Austin Gold and Eldorado Gold”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Austin Gold	N/A	N/A	-$4.00 million	($0.26)	-10.63
Eldorado Gold	$1.10 billion	3.23	$104.63 million	$0.57	30.47

Eldorado Gold has higher revenue and earnings than Austin Gold. Austin Gold is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Eldorado Gold, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares Austin Gold and Eldorado Gold’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Austin Gold	N/A	-29.73%	-28.74%
Eldorado Gold	15.67%	5.82%	4.09%

Institutional and Insider Ownership

62.1% of Austin Gold shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 69.6% of Eldorado Gold shares are owned by institutional investors. 70.7% of Austin Gold shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 0.6% of Eldorado Gold shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Eldorado Gold beats Austin Gold on 10 of the 12 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Austin Gold

Austin Gold Corp., a gold exploration company, focuses on the acquisition, exploration, and evaluation of mineral property interests in Nevada. The company holds interest in Kelly Creek Project located in the Kelly Creek Basin, in southeastern Humboldt County, Nevada; Fourmile Basin Project that comprises various unpatented lode mining claims covering approximately 6410 acres located in Nye County; the Lone Mountain Project consisting of various unpatented lode mining and patented mining claims located near Lone Mountain in Elko County. It also holds interest in the Miller Project consisting various unpatented lode mining claims located in Elko County in Nevada. Austin Gold Corp. was incorporated in 2020 and is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada.

About Eldorado Gold

Eldorado Gold Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the mining, exploration, development, and sale of mineral products primarily in Turkey, Canada, Greece, and Romania. The company primarily produces gold, as well as silver, lead, and zinc. It holds a 100% interest in the Kisladag and Efemçukuru mines located in Turkey; Lamaque complex located in Canada; and Olympias, Stratoni, Skouries, Perama Hill, and Sapes gold mines located in Greece, as well as the 80.5% interest in Certej development projects located in Romania. The company was formerly known as Eldorado Corporation Ltd. and changed its name to Eldorado Gold Corporation in April 1996. Eldorado Gold Corporation was incorporated in 1996 and is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada.