Analyzing Alpha Metallurgical Resources (NYSE:AMR) and Ero Copper (NYSE:ERO)

Ero Copper (NYSE:ERO) and Alpha Metallurgical Resources (NYSE:AMR) are both mid-cap materials companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their risk, valuation, dividends, analyst recommendations, profitability, institutional ownership and earnings.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings and recommmendations for Ero Copper and Alpha Metallurgical Resources, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Ero Copper	1	10	5	2	2.44
Alpha Metallurgical Resources	2	5	0	0	1.71

Ero Copper presently has a consensus price target of $32.33, indicating a potential downside of 8.88%. Alpha Metallurgical Resources has a consensus price target of $176.00, indicating a potential downside of 16.09%. Given Ero Copper’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, research analysts clearly believe Ero Copper is more favorable than Alpha Metallurgical Resources.

Volatility and Risk

Ero Copper has a beta of 1.27, suggesting that its share price is 27% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Alpha Metallurgical Resources has a beta of 0.68, suggesting that its share price is 32% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Ero Copper and Alpha Metallurgical Resources”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Ero Copper	$785.80 million	4.71	$263.72 million	$2.98	11.91
Alpha Metallurgical Resources	$2.13 billion	1.25	-$61.69 million	($3.58)	-58.59

Ero Copper has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Alpha Metallurgical Resources. Alpha Metallurgical Resources is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Ero Copper, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

71.3% of Ero Copper shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 84.3% of Alpha Metallurgical Resources shares are owned by institutional investors. 18.2% of Alpha Metallurgical Resources shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares Ero Copper and Alpha Metallurgical Resources’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Ero Copper	29.79%	30.32%	15.17%
Alpha Metallurgical Resources	-2.23%	-2.99%	-2.01%

Summary

Ero Copper beats Alpha Metallurgical Resources on 12 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Ero Copper

Ero Copper Corp. engages in the exploration, development, and production of mining projects in Brazil. The company is involved in the production and sale of copper concentrate from the Caraíba operations located in the Curaçá Valley, northeastern Bahia state, Brazil, as well as gold and silver by-products. It also holds 100% interests in the Tucumã project, a copper development project located within southeastern Pará state; and the Xavantina Operations located in Mato Grosso state. Ero Copper Corp. was incorporated in 2016 and is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada.

About Alpha Metallurgical Resources

Alpha Metallurgical Resources, Inc., a mining company, produces, processes, and sells met and thermal coal in Virginia and West Virginia. The company offers metallurgical coal products. It operates twenty-two active mines and nine coal preparation and load-out facilities. The company was formerly known as Contura Energy, Inc. and changed its name to Alpha Metallurgical Resources, Inc. in February 2021. Alpha Metallurgical Resources, Inc. was incorporated in 2016 and is headquartered in Bristol, Tennessee.