Reviewing McEwen (NYSE:MUX) & American Sierra Gold (OTCMKTS:AMNP)

McEwen (NYSE:MUX) and American Sierra Gold (OTCMKTS:AMNP) are both basic materials companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, profitability, earnings, valuation, risk, dividends and analyst recommendations.

Risk & Volatility

McEwen has a beta of 1.28, meaning that its stock price is 28% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, American Sierra Gold has a beta of 1.17, meaning that its stock price is 17% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares McEwen and American Sierra Gold’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
McEwen	17.43%	6.89%	4.54%
American Sierra Gold	N/A	N/A	N/A

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and recommmendations for McEwen and American Sierra Gold, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
McEwen	1	1	4	0	2.50
American Sierra Gold	0	0	0	0	0.00

McEwen presently has a consensus target price of $29.83, indicating a potential upside of 20.63%. Given McEwen’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities analysts plainly believe McEwen is more favorable than American Sierra Gold.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

17.0% of McEwen shares are owned by institutional investors. 16.1% of McEwen shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares McEwen and American Sierra Gold”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
McEwen	$197.55 million	7.44	$34.43 million	$0.59	41.92
American Sierra Gold	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A

McEwen has higher revenue and earnings than American Sierra Gold.

Summary

McEwen beats American Sierra Gold on 10 of the 10 factors compared between the two stocks.

About McEwen

McEwen Mining Inc. engages in the exploration, development, production, and sale of gold and silver. It also explores for copper deposits. The company owns 100% interests in the El Gallo and Fenix projects located in Mexico; and the Black Fox Mine and Stock Mill, Grey Fox, and Froome and Tamarack properties in Canada. It also owns interests in the Fuller, Davidson-Tisdale, Buffalo Ankerite, and Paymaster exploration properties located in Canada; and a 49% interest in the San José mine located in Argentina. In addition, the company owns 100% interests in the Gold Bar and Tonkin properties located in Eureka County, Nevada; and interests in the Los Azules copper project located in the cordilleran region in the province of San Juan, Argentina. The company was formerly known as US Gold Corporation and changed its name to McEwen Mining Inc. in January 2012. McEwen Mining Inc. was founded in 1979 and is headquartered in Toronto, Canada.

About American Sierra Gold

Medinah Gold, Inc. was incorporated in 1999 and is based in Nevada.