Analyzing SilverCrest Metals (NYSE:SILV) and Pan American Silver (NYSE:PAAS)

Pan American Silver (NYSE:PAAS) and SilverCrest Metals (NYSE:SILV) are both basic materials companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, risk, earnings, institutional ownership, dividends, valuation and profitability.

Profitability

This table compares Pan American Silver and SilverCrest Metals’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Pan American Silver	-2.37%	3.07%	2.01%
SilverCrest Metals	30.85%	23.35%	20.98%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations and price targets for Pan American Silver and SilverCrest Metals, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Pan American Silver	0	1	4	0	2.80
SilverCrest Metals	0	2	1	0	2.33

Pan American Silver currently has a consensus target price of $25.42, suggesting a potential upside of 18.77%. SilverCrest Metals has a consensus target price of $10.13, suggesting a potential upside of 0.45%. Given Pan American Silver’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities research analysts plainly believe Pan American Silver is more favorable than SilverCrest Metals.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Pan American Silver and SilverCrest Metals”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Pan American Silver	$2.67 billion	2.91	-$103.70 million	($0.17)	-125.88
SilverCrest Metals	$278.08 million	5.41	$116.72 million	$0.57	17.68

SilverCrest Metals has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Pan American Silver. Pan American Silver is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than SilverCrest Metals, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

55.4% of Pan American Silver shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 44.8% of SilverCrest Metals shares are held by institutional investors. 12.9% of Pan American Silver shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 4.1% of SilverCrest Metals shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Volatility and Risk

Pan American Silver has a beta of 1.27, suggesting that its stock price is 27% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, SilverCrest Metals has a beta of 1.2, suggesting that its stock price is 20% more volatile than the S&P 500.

About Pan American Silver

Pan American Silver Corp. engages in the exploration, mine development, extraction, processing, refining, and reclamation of silver, gold, zinc, lead, and copper mines in Canada, Mexico, Peru, Bolivia, Argentina, Chile, and Brazil. The company was formerly known as Pan American Minerals Corp. and changed its name to Pan American Silver Corp. in April 1995. Pan American Silver Corp. was incorporated in 1979 and is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada.

About SilverCrest Metals

SilverCrest Metals Inc. engages in the acquiring, exploration, and development of precious metal properties in Mexico. The company primarily explores for silver and gold properties. Its focuses on principal property the Las Chispas Mine that consists of 28 concessions totaling of approximately 1,401 hectares located in Sonora, Mexico, as well as operates a portfolio of El Picacho, Cruz de Mayo, and Angel de Plata properties in Sonora Mexico. The company was incorporated in 2015 and is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada.