Head-To-Head Analysis: i-80 Gold (NYSE:IAUX) and Wheaton Precious Metals (NYSE:WPM)

Wheaton Precious Metals (NYSE:WPM) and i-80 Gold (NYSE:IAUX) are both basic materials companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, dividends, profitability, earnings, analyst recommendations, valuation and institutional ownership.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Wheaton Precious Metals and i-80 Gold”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Wheaton Precious Metals	$1.28 billion	26.83	$537.64 million	$1.16	65.48
i-80 Gold	$52.94 million	5.43	-$65.20 million	($0.36)	-1.81

Wheaton Precious Metals has higher revenue and earnings than i-80 Gold. i-80 Gold is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Wheaton Precious Metals, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings and recommmendations for Wheaton Precious Metals and i-80 Gold, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Wheaton Precious Metals	0	0	9	1	3.10
i-80 Gold	0	2	0	1	2.67

Wheaton Precious Metals presently has a consensus price target of $72.44, suggesting a potential downside of 4.63%. i-80 Gold has a consensus price target of $3.50, suggesting a potential upside of 438.21%. Given i-80 Gold’s higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe i-80 Gold is more favorable than Wheaton Precious Metals.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

70.3% of Wheaton Precious Metals shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 61.3% of i-80 Gold shares are held by institutional investors. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Wheaton Precious Metals and i-80 Gold’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Wheaton Precious Metals	50.05%	8.85%	8.74%
i-80 Gold	-231.43%	-21.18%	-12.67%

Volatility and Risk

Wheaton Precious Metals has a beta of 0.77, indicating that its share price is 23% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, i-80 Gold has a beta of 1.13, indicating that its share price is 13% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Wheaton Precious Metals beats i-80 Gold on 11 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Wheaton Precious Metals

Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. primarily sells precious metals in North America, Europe, and South America. It produces and sells gold, silver, palladium, and cobalt deposits. The company was formerly known as Silver Wheaton Corp. and changed its name to Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. in May 2017. Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. was founded in 2004 and is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada.

About i-80 Gold

i-80 Gold Corp. is a mining company, engages in the exploration, development and production of gold and silver mineral deposits principally in the United States. i-80 Gold Corp. is based in Reno, Nevada.