Comparing Gold Fields (NYSE:GFI) and US Gold (NASDAQ:USAU)

US Gold (NASDAQ:USAU) and Gold Fields (NYSE:GFI) are both basic materials companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, profitability, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, dividends, valuation and earnings.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

6.6% of US Gold shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 24.8% of Gold Fields shares are held by institutional investors. 8.8% of US Gold shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 36.8% of Gold Fields shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Risk and Volatility

US Gold has a beta of 0.9, indicating that its stock price is 10% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Gold Fields has a beta of 0.66, indicating that its stock price is 34% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares US Gold and Gold Fields”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
US Gold	N/A	N/A	-$20.56 million	($1.45)	-10.90
Gold Fields	$8.75 billion	4.92	$3.57 billion	N/A	N/A

Gold Fields has higher revenue and earnings than US Gold.

Profitability

This table compares US Gold and Gold Fields’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
US Gold	N/A	-51.92%	-44.32%
Gold Fields	N/A	N/A	N/A

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations for US Gold and Gold Fields, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
US Gold	1	1	2	0	2.25
Gold Fields	1	5	4	1	2.45

US Gold presently has a consensus target price of $26.75, suggesting a potential upside of 69.30%. Gold Fields has a consensus target price of $43.88, suggesting a potential downside of 8.84%. Given US Gold’s higher possible upside, equities analysts plainly believe US Gold is more favorable than Gold Fields.

Summary

Gold Fields beats US Gold on 9 of the 11 factors compared between the two stocks.

About US 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 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.