Standard Lithium (OTCMKTS:SLI) and Iluka Resources (OTCMKTS:ILKAF) Financial Analysis

Standard Lithium (OTCMKTS:SLI) and Iluka Resources (OTCMKTS:ILKAF) are both basic materials companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, earnings, analyst recommendations, valuation, institutional ownership, dividends and risk.

Profitability

This table compares Standard Lithium and Iluka Resources’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Standard Lithium	N/A	-12.51%	-12.09%
Iluka Resources	N/A	N/A	N/A

Dividends

Standard Lithium pays an annual dividend of $2.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 120.5%. Iluka Resources pays an annual dividend of $0.09 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.6%. Standard Lithium pays out 339.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Iluka Resources pays out -917.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings and target prices for Standard Lithium and Iluka Resources, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Standard Lithium	0	0	2	0	3.00
Iluka Resources	0	0	0	0	0.00

Standard Lithium currently has a consensus price target of $3.50, indicating a potential upside of 110.84%. Given Standard Lithium’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities analysts clearly believe Standard Lithium is more favorable than Iluka Resources.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Standard Lithium and Iluka Resources”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Standard Lithium	N/A	N/A	-$30.10 million	$0.59	2.81
Iluka Resources	N/A	N/A	N/A	($0.01)	-358.74

Iluka Resources is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Standard Lithium, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

16.8% of Standard Lithium shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 39.7% of Iluka Resources shares are held by institutional investors. 3.7% of Standard Lithium shares are held by company 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

Standard Lithium beats Iluka Resources on 7 of the 11 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Standard Lithium

Standard Lithium Ltd. explores for, develops, and processes lithium brine properties in the United States. Its flagship project is the Lanxess project with area of approximately 150,000 acres located in southern Arkansas. The company was formerly known as Patriot Petroleum Corp. and changed its name to Standard Lithium Ltd. in December 2016. Standard Lithium Ltd. was incorporated in 1998 and is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada.

About Iluka Resources

Iluka Resources Limited engages in the exploration, project development, mining, processing, marketing, and rehabilitation of mineral sands in Australia, China, rest of Asia, Europe, the Americas, and internationally. It operates through Jacinth-Ambrosia/Mid-West, Cataby/South West, Rare Earths, and United States/Murray Basin segments. The company produces zircon; titanium dioxide products of rutile and synthetic rutile; and ilmenite, as well as activated carbon, gypsum, and iron concentrate products. It also engages in the exploration of rare earths elements, such as monazite and xenotime. Its products are used in technology, construction, medical, lifestyle, defense, and industrial applications. The company was formerly known as Westralian Sands Limited and changed its name to Iluka Resources Limited in May 1999. Iluka Resources Limited was incorporated in 1954 and is headquartered in Perth, Australia.