Contrasting NioCorp Developments (NASDAQ:NB) & Sibanye Gold (NYSE:SBSW)

Sibanye Gold (NYSE:SBSW) and NioCorp Developments (NASDAQ:NB) are both basic materials companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, risk, earnings, profitability, analyst recommendations, dividends and valuation.

Profitability

This table compares Sibanye Gold and NioCorp Developments’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Sibanye Gold	N/A	N/A	N/A
NioCorp Developments	N/A	-12.69%	-11.11%

Risk and Volatility

Sibanye Gold has a beta of 0.69, indicating that its share price is 31% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, NioCorp Developments has a beta of 0.24, indicating that its share price is 76% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

34.9% of Sibanye Gold shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 4.0% of NioCorp Developments shares are held by institutional investors. 0.1% of Sibanye Gold shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 8.2% of NioCorp Developments shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings for Sibanye Gold and NioCorp Developments, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Sibanye Gold	1	2	2	0	2.20
NioCorp Developments	1	1	4	0	2.50

Sibanye Gold presently has a consensus target price of $19.93, suggesting a potential upside of 122.94%. NioCorp Developments has a consensus target price of $8.93, suggesting a potential upside of 88.29%. Given Sibanye Gold’s higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Sibanye Gold is more favorable than NioCorp Developments.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Sibanye Gold and NioCorp Developments”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Sibanye Gold	$7.25 billion	0.87	-$289.58 million	N/A	N/A
NioCorp Developments	N/A	N/A	-$17.41 million	($0.68)	-6.97

NioCorp Developments has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Sibanye Gold.

Summary

Sibanye Gold beats NioCorp Developments on 6 of the 10 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Sibanye Gold

Sibanye Stillwater Limited, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a precious metals mining company in South Africa, the United States, Europe, and Australia. The company produces gold; platinum group metals (PGMs), including palladium, platinum, rhodium, iridium, and ruthenium; chrome; nickel; and silver, cobalt, and copper. It owns the East Boulder and Stillwater mines located in Montana, the United States; and Columbus metallurgical complex, which smelts the material mined to produce PGM-rich filter cake, as well as conducts PGM recycling activities. The company also involved in the Kroondal, Rustenburg, Marikana, and Platinum Mile operations situated in South Africa; Mimosa located on the southern portion in Zimbabwe; the Driefontein, Kloof, Rand Refinery, and Cooke surface operations located on the West Rand of the Witwatersrand Basin; and the Beatrix situated in the southern Free State. In addition, it owns an interest in surface tailings retreatment facilities; the Marathon PGM project in Ontario, Canada; the Altar and Rio Grande copper gold projects in the Andes in north-west Argentina; the Hoedspruit; and the Burnstone and southern Free State gold projects in South Africa. Sibanye Stillwater Limited was founded in 2013 and is headquartered in Weltevreden Park, South Africa.

About NioCorp Developments

NioCorp Developments Ltd. engages in the exploration and development of mineral deposits in North America. It owns and develops the Elk Creek niobium/scandium/titanium project that owns one 226.43-acre parcel of land and associated mineral rights, and an additional 40 acres of mineral rights, as well as an optioned land package that covers an area of 1,396 acres located in Johnson County, southeast Nebraska. The company was formerly known as Quantum Rare Earth Developments Corp. and changed its name to NioCorp Developments Ltd. in March 2013. NioCorp Developments Ltd. was incorporated in 1987 and is headquartered in Centennial, Colorado.