Head to Head Contrast: Gold Fields (NYSE:GFI) & Platinum Group Metals (NYSE:PLG)

Platinum Group Metals (NYSE:PLG) and Gold Fields (NYSE:GFI) are both basic materials companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, institutional ownership, earnings, dividends, valuation, profitability and analyst recommendations.

Profitability

This table compares Platinum Group Metals and Gold Fields’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Platinum Group Metals	N/A	-10.13%	-9.69%
Gold Fields	N/A	N/A	N/A

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Platinum Group Metals and Gold Fields”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Platinum Group Metals	N/A	N/A	-$4.61 million	($0.06)	-23.00
Gold Fields	$4.36 billion	3.87	$703.30 million	N/A	N/A

Gold Fields has higher revenue and earnings than Platinum Group Metals.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations for Platinum Group Metals and Gold Fields, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Platinum Group Metals	0	0	0	0	0.00
Gold Fields	0	4	2	0	2.33

Gold Fields has a consensus target price of $16.45, suggesting a potential downside of 12.78%. Given Gold Fields’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Gold Fields is more favorable than Platinum Group Metals.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

16.3% of Platinum Group Metals shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 24.8% of Gold Fields shares are held by institutional investors. 0.0% of Platinum Group Metals shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 36.8% of Gold Fields shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Risk & Volatility

Platinum Group Metals has a beta of 1.78, meaning that its stock price is 78% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Gold Fields has a beta of 1.15, meaning that its stock price is 15% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Gold Fields beats Platinum Group Metals on 9 of the 10 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Platinum Group Metals

Platinum Group Metals Ltd. engages in the exploration and development of platinum and palladium properties. It explores for palladium, platinum, gold, copper, nickel, and rhodium deposits. The company holds 50.02% interest in the Waterberg project located on the Northern Limb of the Bushveld Igneous Complex, South Africa. It also develops next-generation battery technology using platinum and palladium. Platinum Group Metals Ltd. was founded in 2000 and is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada.

About Gold Fields

Gold Fields Limited operates as a gold producer with reserves and resources in Chile, South Africa, Ghana, Canada, Australia, and Peru. It also explores for copper and silver deposits. The company was founded in 1887 and is based in Sandton, South Africa.