Financial Contrast: Vista Gold (NYSE:VGZ) and Coeur Mining (NYSE:CDE)

Vista Gold (NYSE:VGZ) and Coeur Mining (NYSE:CDE) are both basic materials companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, dividends, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, valuation, earnings and risk.

Volatility & Risk

Vista Gold has a beta of 1.09, indicating that its stock price is 9% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Coeur Mining has a beta of 1.31, indicating that its stock price is 31% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Vista Gold and Coeur Mining’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Vista Gold	N/A	93.43%	68.97%
Coeur Mining	10.11%	9.96%	5.55%

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Vista Gold and Coeur Mining”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Vista Gold	N/A	N/A	-$6.59 million	$0.07	14.19
Coeur Mining	$1.05 billion	5.48	$58.90 million	$0.26	34.75

Coeur Mining has higher revenue and earnings than Vista Gold. Vista Gold is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Coeur Mining, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current recommendations and price targets for Vista Gold and Coeur Mining, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Vista Gold	0	0	1	0	3.00
Coeur Mining	0	0	5	3	3.38

Vista Gold currently has a consensus target price of $2.75, suggesting a potential upside of 176.94%. Coeur Mining has a consensus target price of $8.75, suggesting a potential downside of 3.15%. Given Vista Gold’s higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Vista Gold is more favorable than Coeur Mining.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

27.3% of Vista Gold shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 63.0% of Coeur Mining shares are owned by institutional investors. 4.2% of Vista Gold shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 1.5% of Coeur Mining shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Coeur Mining beats Vista Gold on 10 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Vista Gold

Vista Gold Corp., together with its subsidiaries, acquires, explores, evaluates, and advances gold exploration and development projects in Australia. Its flagship asset is the 100% owned Mt Todd gold project located in Northern Territory, Australia. The company was incorporated in 1983 and is based in Englewood, Colorado.

About Coeur Mining

Coeur Mining, Inc. explores for precious metals in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. The company primarily explores for gold, silver, zinc, and lead properties. It markets and sells its concentrates to third-party customers, smelters, under off-take agreements. The company was formerly known as Coeur d'Alene Mines Corporation and changed its name to Coeur Mining, Inc. in May 2013. Coeur Mining, Inc. was incorporated in 1928 and is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois.