Cameco (NYSE:CCJ – Get Free Report) and Paladin Energy (OTCMKTS:PALAF – Get Free Report) are both basic materials companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, institutional ownership, risk, dividends, analyst recommendations, earnings and valuation.
Earnings and Valuation
This table compares Cameco and Paladin Energy”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Cameco | $3.54 billion | 13.12 | $421.96 million | $1.08 | 98.68 |
| Paladin Energy | $177.68 million | 18.21 | -$44.64 million | ($0.05) | -144.00 |
Analyst Recommendations
This is a breakdown of current ratings and target prices for Cameco and Paladin Energy, as provided by MarketBeat.com.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Cameco | 0 | 5 | 11 | 0 | 2.69 |
| Paladin Energy | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.00 |
Cameco currently has a consensus target price of $147.42, indicating a potential upside of 38.33%. Paladin Energy has a consensus target price of $9.70, indicating a potential upside of 34.72%. Given Cameco’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities analysts plainly believe Cameco is more favorable than Paladin Energy.
Profitability
This table compares Cameco and Paladin Energy’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Cameco | 18.38% | 11.05% | 7.65% |
| Paladin Energy | -7.08% | -1.90% | -1.44% |
Insider and Institutional Ownership
70.2% of Cameco shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 0.0% of Paladin Energy shares are held by institutional investors. 1.0% of Cameco shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.
Risk and Volatility
Cameco has a beta of 0.99, meaning that its share price is 1% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Paladin Energy has a beta of 1.31, meaning that its share price is 31% more volatile than the S&P 500.
Summary
Cameco beats Paladin Energy on 12 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.
About Cameco
Cameco Corporation provides uranium for the generation of electricity. It operates through Uranium, Fuel Services, Westinghouse segments. The Uranium segment is involved in the exploration for, mining, and milling, purchase, and sale of uranium concentrate. The Fuel Services segment engages in the refining, conversion, and fabrication of uranium concentrate, as well as the purchase and sale of conversion services. This segment also produces CANDU reactor fuel bundles and other reactor components. The company offers nuclear fuel processing services. The Westinghouse segment engages in the manufacture of nuclear reactor technology original equipment. This segment provides products and services to commercial utilities and government agencies; and outage and maintenance services, engineering support, instrumentation and controls equipment, plant modification, and components and parts to nuclear reactors. It sells its uranium and fuel services to nuclear utilities in the Americas, Europe, and Asia. Cameco Corporation was incorporated in 1987 and is headquartered in Saskatoon, Canada.
About Paladin Energy
Paladin Energy Ltd develops, explores for, owns, and operates uranium mines in Australia, Canada, and Africa. The company operates through Exploration, Namibia, and Australia segments. Its flagship project is the Langer Heinrich mine located in the Namib Desert in Namibia. The company was formerly known as Paladin Resources Ltd and changed its name to Paladin Energy Limited in November 2007. Paladin Energy Ltd was incorporated in 1993 and is headquartered in Perth, Australia.
Receive News & Ratings for Cameco Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Cameco and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
