Financial Contrast: South32 (OTCMKTS:SOUHY) versus IBC Advanced Alloys (OTCMKTS:IAALF)

South32 (OTCMKTS:SOUHY) and IBC Advanced Alloys (OTCMKTS:IAALF) are both basic materials companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, profitability, institutional ownership, earnings, dividends, risk and analyst recommendations.

Profitability

This table compares South32 and IBC Advanced Alloys’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
South32	N/A	N/A	N/A
IBC Advanced Alloys	-10.84%	-76.63%	-6.70%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations and price targets for South32 and IBC Advanced Alloys, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
South32	1	1	1	1	2.50
IBC Advanced Alloys	0	0	0	0	0.00

Institutional & Insider Ownership

0.1% of South32 shares are held by institutional investors. 0.2% of South32 shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares South32 and IBC Advanced Alloys”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
South32	$5.78 billion	2.23	$213.00 million	N/A	N/A
IBC Advanced Alloys	$17.76 million	0.91	-$3.41 million	($0.02)	-6.98

South32 has higher revenue and earnings than IBC Advanced Alloys.

Risk & Volatility

South32 has a beta of 0.69, suggesting that its stock price is 31% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, IBC Advanced Alloys has a beta of 1.16, suggesting that its stock price is 16% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

South32 beats IBC Advanced Alloys on 11 of the 12 factors compared between the two stocks.

About South32

South32 Limited operates as a diversified metals and mining company in Australia, India, China, Japan, the Middle East, Mozambique, the Netherlands, Brazil, Russia, South Africa, South Korea, the United States, and internationally. The company operates through Worsley Alumina, Brazil Alumina, Brazil Aluminium, Hillside Aluminium, Mozal Aluminium, Sierra Gorda, Cannington, Hermosa, Cerro Matoso, Illawarra Metallurgical Coal, Australia Manganese, and South Africa Manganese segments. It has a portfolio of assets producing bauxite, alumina, aluminum, copper, silver, lead, zinc, nickel, metallurgical coal, manganese, ferronickel, and other base metals. The company also exports its products. South32 Limited was incorporated in 2000 and is headquartered in Perth, Australia.

About IBC Advanced Alloys

IBC Advanced Alloys Corp. develops, produces, and sells specialty alloy products in the United States and internationally. The company operates through Copper Alloys and Engineered Materials segments. It offers various copper alloys as castings and forgings, such as beryllium copper, chrome copper, oxygen-free high conductivity copper, and aluminum bronze in the form of plates, blocks, rounds, discs, bars, rings, tubes, rods, and other custom forgings, as well as specialty copper alloy forgings for plastic mold tooling and resistance welding applications. The company also provides beryllium-aluminum castings, beryllium-aluminum alloys, beryllium-copper alloys, high-strength beryllium-copper casting alloys, high-conductivity beryllium-copper casting alloys, and beryllium-nickel casting alloys. In addition, it manufactures Thermal-Mold Super, a beryllium-free mold alloy of copper-nickel-silicon-chrome, as well as provides tolling services and consulting. It serves automotive, defense, resistance welding, electronics, industrial equipment, injection molding, foundry, aerospace, and oil and gas industries. The company was formerly known as International Beryllium Corporation and changed its name to IBC Advanced Alloys Corp. in March 2009. IBC Advanced Alloys Corp. is headquartered in Franklin, Indiana.