NioCorp Developments (NASDAQ:NB) versus Santa Fe Gold (OTCMKTS:SFEG) Critical Review

NioCorp Developments (NASDAQ:NB) and Santa Fe Gold (OTCMKTS:SFEG) are both basic materials companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, analyst recommendations, earnings, institutional ownership, dividends, valuation and risk.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

4.0% of NioCorp Developments shares are owned by institutional investors. 18.7% of NioCorp Developments shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 3.7% of Santa Fe Gold shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares NioCorp Developments and Santa Fe Gold”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
NioCorp Developments	N/A	N/A	-$11.44 million	($0.85)	-1.64
Santa Fe Gold	N/A	N/A	-$2.33 million	N/A	N/A

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings and price targets for NioCorp Developments and Santa Fe Gold, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
NioCorp Developments	0	0	1	0	3.00
Santa Fe Gold	0	0	0	0	0.00

NioCorp Developments presently has a consensus target price of $8.50, suggesting a potential upside of 511.51%. Given NioCorp Developments’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities research analysts plainly believe NioCorp Developments is more favorable than Santa Fe Gold.

Profitability

This table compares NioCorp Developments and Santa Fe Gold’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
NioCorp Developments	N/A	-8,973.12%	-206.20%
Santa Fe Gold	N/A	N/A	N/A

Summary

NioCorp Developments beats Santa Fe Gold on 5 of the 8 factors compared between the two stocks.

About NioCorp Developments

NioCorp Developments Ltd. engages in the exploration and development of mineral deposits in North America. It owns and develops the Elk Creek niobium/scandium/titanium project that owns one 226.43-acre parcel of land and associated mineral rights, and an additional 40 acres of mineral rights, as well as an optioned land package that covers an area of 1,396 acres located in Johnson County, southeast Nebraska. The company was formerly known as Quantum Rare Earth Developments Corp. and changed its name to NioCorp Developments Ltd. in March 2013. NioCorp Developments Ltd. was incorporated in 1987 and is headquartered in Centennial, Colorado.

About Santa Fe Gold

Santa Fe Gold Corporation, a mining company, acquires, explores, develops, and produces mineral properties in the United States. The company primarily explores for precious metals, gold, and silver deposits. The company was founded in 1991 and is based in Albuquerque, New Mexico.