Contrasting U.S. Gold (NASDAQ:USAU) and New Gold (NYSE:NGD)

U.S. Gold (NASDAQ:USAU) and New Gold (NYSE:NGD) are both basic materials companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, risk, earnings, dividends, institutional ownership, valuation and profitability.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares U.S. Gold and New Gold”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
U.S. Gold	N/A	N/A	-$6.90 million	($1.36)	-5.90
New Gold	$924.50 million	2.58	-$64.50 million	$0.13	23.15

U.S. Gold has higher earnings, but lower revenue than New Gold. U.S. Gold is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than New Gold, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent recommendations for U.S. Gold and New Gold, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
U.S. Gold	0	0	2	1	3.33
New Gold	0	1	5	2	3.13

U.S. Gold presently has a consensus target price of $11.50, suggesting a potential upside of 43.39%. New Gold has a consensus target price of $3.70, suggesting a potential upside of 22.92%. Given U.S. Gold’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities analysts clearly believe U.S. Gold is more favorable than New Gold.

Volatility and Risk

U.S. Gold has a beta of 1.48, indicating that its share price is 48% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, New Gold has a beta of 0.93, indicating that its share price is 7% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

6.6% of U.S. Gold shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 42.8% of New Gold shares are held by institutional investors. 11.1% of U.S. Gold shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 0.2% of New Gold shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares U.S. Gold and New Gold’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
U.S. Gold	N/A	-59.61%	-42.24%
New Gold	11.10%	13.70%	6.31%

Summary

New Gold beats U.S. Gold on 9 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About U.S. Gold

U.S. Gold Corp. engages in the exploration and development of gold and precious metals in the United States. It also explores for copper and silver deposits. The company holds 100% interests in the CK Gold project, which consists of various mining leases and other mineral rights covering approximately 1,120 acres in Laramie County, Wyoming; the Keystone project that consists of 601 unpatented lode mining claims covering approximately 20 square miles in Eureka County, Nevada; and the Challis Gold project, which consists of 77 unpatented lode mining claims covering approximately 1,710 acres in Lemhi County, Idaho. It also has earn-in agreement to acquire a 50% ownership interest in the Maggie Creek project located in Eureka County, Nevada. The company was formerly known as Dataram Corporation and changed its name to U.S. Gold Corp. in June 2017. U.S. Gold Corp. is based in Elko, Nevada.

About New Gold

New Gold Inc., an intermediate gold mining company, develops and operates of mineral properties in Canada. It primarily explores for gold, silver, and copper deposits. The company’s principal operating properties include 100% interest in the Rainy River mine located in Northwestern Ontario, Canada; and New Afton project situated in South-Central British Columbia. New Gold Inc. is headquartered in Toronto, Canada.