Head-To-Head Contrast: US Gold (NASDAQ:USAU) versus Iamgold (NYSE:IAG)

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

Institutional & Insider Ownership

6.6% of US Gold shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 47.1% of Iamgold shares are owned by institutional investors. 11.1% of US Gold shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 0.2% of Iamgold shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current recommendations for US Gold and Iamgold, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
US Gold	1	1	2	0	2.25
Iamgold	0	3	5	2	2.90

US Gold currently has a consensus price target of $26.75, suggesting a potential upside of 24.16%. Iamgold has a consensus price target of $17.25, suggesting a potential downside of 18.30%. Given US Gold’s higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe US Gold is more favorable than Iamgold.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
US Gold	N/A	-73.41%	-55.36%
Iamgold	15.39%	10.39%	6.72%

Volatility and Risk

US Gold has a beta of 0.84, meaning that its stock price is 16% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Iamgold has a beta of 1.38, meaning that its stock price is 38% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings and Valuation

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

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
US Gold	N/A	N/A	-$20.56 million	($1.64)	-13.14
Iamgold	$1.63 billion	7.64	$819.60 million	$0.60	35.19

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

Summary

Iamgold beats US Gold on 12 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

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.

About Iamgold

IAMGOLD Corporation, through its subsidiaries, operates as an intermediate gold producer and developer in Canada and Burkina Faso. It owns 100% interest in the Westwood project that covers an area of 1,925 hectare and located in Quebec; a 60% interest in the Côté gold project, which covers an area of 596 square kilometer located in Ontario, Canada; and a 90% interests in the Essakane project that covers an area of 274,000 square kilometer situated in Burkina Faso. IAMGOLD Corporation was incorporated in 1990 and is headquartered in Toronto, Canada.