Metallus (NYSE:MTUS) versus First Majestic Silver (NYSE:AG) Critical Review

Metallus (NYSE:MTUS) and First Majestic Silver (NYSE:AG) are both materials companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, dividends, risk, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, valuation and earnings.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

77.6% of Metallus shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 27.2% of First Majestic Silver shares are owned by institutional investors. 3.8% of Metallus shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 0.9% of First Majestic Silver shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current recommendations and price targets for Metallus and First Majestic Silver, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Metallus	0	3	0	0	2.00
First Majestic Silver	0	3	5	1	2.78

First Majestic Silver has a consensus price target of $23.83, suggesting a potential upside of 30.02%. Given First Majestic Silver’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe First Majestic Silver is more favorable than Metallus.

Profitability

This table compares Metallus and First Majestic Silver’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Metallus	0.66%	3.35%	2.02%
First Majestic Silver	21.18%	13.36%	9.20%

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Metallus and First Majestic Silver”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Metallus	$1.16 billion	0.69	-$1.20 million	$0.19	101.64
First Majestic Silver	$1.26 billion	7.19	$164.92 million	$0.71	25.82

First Majestic Silver has higher revenue and earnings than Metallus. First Majestic Silver is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Metallus, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Risk & Volatility

Metallus has a beta of 1.36, suggesting that its stock price is 36% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, First Majestic Silver has a beta of 1, suggesting that its stock price has a similar volatility profile to the S&P 500.

Summary

First Majestic Silver beats Metallus on 11 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Metallus

Metallus Inc. manufactures and sells alloy steel, and carbon and micro-alloy steel products in the United States and internationally. The company offers special bar quality (SBQ) bars, seamless mechanical tubes, precision steel components, and billets that are used in gears, hubs, axles, crankshafts and motor shafts, oil country drill pipes, bits and collars, bearing races and rolling elements, bushings, fuel injectors, wind energy shafts, anti-friction bearings, artillery and mortar bodies, and other applications. It also provides custom-make precision steel components. It offers its products and services to the automotive, energy, industrial equipment, mining, construction, rail, aerospace and defense, heavy truck, agriculture, and power generation sectors. The company was formerly known as TimkenSteel Corporation and changed its name to Metallus Inc. in February 2024. Metallus Inc. was founded in 1899 and is headquartered in Canton, Ohio.

About First Majestic Silver

First Majestic Silver Corp. engages in the acquisition, exploration, development, and production of mineral properties with a focus on silver and gold production in North America. Its projects include the San Dimas mine covering an area of approximately 71,867 hectares located in Durango State, Mexico; the Santa Elena that covers an area of approximately 102,244 hectares located in Sonora State, México; and the La Encantada covering an area of approximately 4,076 hectares located in Coahuila State, México. The company was formerly known as First Majestic Resource Corp. and changed its name to First Majestic Silver Corp. in November 2006. First Majestic Silver Corp. was incorporated in 1979 and is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada.