Exxaro Resources (OTCMKTS:EXXAY) and Lithium Americas (Argentina) (NYSE:LAAC) Financial Contrast

Lithium Americas (Argentina) (NYSE:LAAC) and Exxaro Resources (OTCMKTS:EXXAY) are both basic materials companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, earnings, dividends, risk, valuation, institutional ownership and analyst recommendations.

Risk and Volatility

Lithium Americas (Argentina) has a beta of 1.35, suggesting that its stock price is 35% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Exxaro Resources has a beta of 0.93, suggesting that its stock price is 7% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Lithium Americas (Argentina) and Exxaro Resources’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Lithium Americas (Argentina)	N/A	-1.37%	-1.08%
Exxaro Resources	N/A	N/A	N/A

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and price targets for Lithium Americas (Argentina) and Exxaro Resources, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Lithium Americas (Argentina)	0	3	3	1	2.71
Exxaro Resources	0	0	0	0	0.00

Lithium Americas (Argentina) presently has a consensus price target of $7.19, indicating a potential upside of 158.08%. Given Lithium Americas (Argentina)’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Lithium Americas (Argentina) is more favorable than Exxaro Resources.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

49.2% of Lithium Americas (Argentina) shares are owned by institutional investors. 19.8% of Lithium Americas (Argentina) shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Lithium Americas (Argentina) and Exxaro Resources”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Lithium Americas (Argentina)	N/A	N/A	$1.29 billion	$7.79	0.36
Exxaro Resources	$1.78 billion	1.63	$679.76 million	N/A	N/A

Lithium Americas (Argentina) has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Exxaro Resources.

Summary

Lithium Americas (Argentina) beats Exxaro Resources on 8 of the 11 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Lithium Americas (Argentina)

Lithium Americas (Argentina) Corp. operates as a resource company. The company explores for lithium deposits. The company owns interests in the Cauchari-Olaroz project located in Jujuy province of Argentina. It also has a pipeline of development and exploration stage projects, including the Pastos Grandes project and the Sal de la Puna project located in Salta Province in northwestern Argentina. Lithium Americas (Argentina) Corp. is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada.

About Exxaro Resources

Exxaro Resources Limited engages in coal, iron ore investment, pigment manufacturing, renewable energy, and residual base metal businesses in South Africa, Europe, the United States, and Australia. The company operates through Coal; Ferrous; Energy; and Other segments. It produces thermal coal, metallurgical coal, and semi-soft coking coal products primarily in the Waterberg and Mpumalanga regions; offers gas-atomised ferrosilicon for use in separation plants, as well as iron ore; and operates two wind farms. The company was formerly known as Kumba Iron Ore Limited and changed its name to Exxaro Resources Limited in November 2006. The company is based in Pretoria, South Africa.