Analyzing Eldorado Gold (NYSE:EGO) and US Gold (NASDAQ:USAU)

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

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Eldorado Gold and US Gold”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Eldorado Gold	$1.32 billion	5.39	$289.12 million	$1.80	19.77
US Gold	N/A	N/A	-$20.56 million	($1.64)	-11.51

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

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Eldorado Gold	22.15%	8.89%	5.80%
US Gold	N/A	-73.41%	-55.36%

Insider and Institutional Ownership

69.6% of Eldorado Gold shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 6.6% of US Gold shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.6% of Eldorado Gold shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 11.1% of US Gold shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Risk & Volatility

Eldorado Gold has a beta of 0.57, meaning that its share price is 43% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, US Gold has a beta of 0.96, meaning that its share price is 4% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and recommmendations for Eldorado Gold and US Gold, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Eldorado Gold	1	1	4	2	2.88
US Gold	1	1	2	0	2.25

Eldorado Gold presently has a consensus target price of $31.20, indicating a potential downside of 12.31%. US Gold has a consensus target price of $24.00, indicating a potential upside of 27.19%. Given US Gold’s higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe US Gold is more favorable than Eldorado Gold.

Summary

Eldorado Gold beats US Gold on 11 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Eldorado Gold

Eldorado Gold Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the mining, exploration, development, and sale of mineral products primarily in Turkey, Canada, Greece, and Romania. The company primarily produces gold, as well as silver, lead, and zinc. It holds a 100% interest in the Kisladag and Efemçukuru mines located in Turkey; Lamaque complex located in Canada; and Olympias, Stratoni, Skouries, Perama Hill, and Sapes gold mines located in Greece, as well as the 80.5% interest in Certej development projects located in Romania. The company was formerly known as Eldorado Corporation Ltd. and changed its name to Eldorado Gold Corporation in April 1996. Eldorado Gold Corporation was incorporated in 1996 and is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada.

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.