Critical Analysis: Norsk Hydro ASA (OTCMKTS:NHYDY) versus Select Sands (OTCMKTS:SLSDF)

Norsk Hydro ASA (OTCMKTS:NHYDY) and Select Sands (OTCMKTS:SLSDF) are both basic materials companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, earnings, dividends, valuation, risk, profitability and institutional ownership.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and target prices for Norsk Hydro ASA and Select Sands, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Norsk Hydro ASA	2	6	3	1	2.25
Select Sands	0	0	0	0	0.00

Institutional and Insider Ownership

0.0% of Norsk Hydro ASA shares are held by institutional investors. 0.0% of Norsk Hydro ASA shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares Norsk Hydro ASA and Select Sands’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Norsk Hydro ASA	3.11%	10.52%	5.50%
Select Sands	N/A	N/A	N/A

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Norsk Hydro ASA and Select Sands”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Norsk Hydro ASA	$20.05 billion	1.14	$647.52 million	$0.31	37.35
Select Sands	N/A	N/A	N/A	($0.04)	0.00

Norsk Hydro ASA has higher revenue and earnings than Select Sands. Select Sands is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Norsk Hydro ASA, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

Norsk Hydro ASA beats Select Sands on 10 of the 10 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Norsk Hydro ASA

Norsk Hydro ASA engages in the power production, bauxite extraction, alumina refining, aluminium smelting, and recycling activities; and provision of extruded solutions worldwide. It operates through Hydro Bauxite & Alumina, Hydro Aluminium Metal, Hydro Metal Markets, Hydro Extrusions, and Hydro Energy segments. The Hydro Bauxite & Alumina segment engages in bauxite mining activities, production of alumina, and related commercial activities, primarily the sale of alumina. The Hydro Aluminium Metal segment is involved in the primary aluminum production casting activities. This segment principally offers extrusion ingots, foundry alloys, and sheet and standard ingots. The Metal Markets segment sells products from the company’s primary metal plants; operates recyclers; and trades in physical and financial metals. The Hydro Extrusions segment offers extrusion profiles, building systems, and precision tubing products for construction, automotive and heating, and ventilation and air conditioning sectors, as well as operates recycling facilities. The Hydro Energy segment engages in the trading and wholesale business in Brazil; energy sourcing operations; and operation of power stations in Norway, as well as renewable energy production, such as wind and solar, battery materials, and green hydrogen. Norsk Hydro ASA was founded in 1905 and is headquartered in Oslo, Norway.

About Select Sands

Select Sands Corp., together with its subsidiaries, engages in quarrying and producing silica sand. The company holds interest in the Sandtown project located in northeast Arkansas, the United States. It sells its products to industrial and energy customers. The company was formerly known as La Ronge Gold Corp. and changed its name to Select Sands Corp. in November 2014. Select Sands Corp. was incorporated in 2006 and is based in Houston, Texas.