Ramaco Resources (NASDAQ:METCB) & Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) Financial Contrast

Ramaco Resources (NASDAQ:METCB) and Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) are both materials companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, valuation, risk, profitability, analyst recommendations, earnings and institutional ownership.

Volatility & Risk

Ramaco Resources has a beta of 1.37, suggesting that its stock price is 37% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Freeport-McMoRan has a beta of 1.39, suggesting that its stock price is 39% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

9.6% of Ramaco Resources shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 80.8% of Freeport-McMoRan shares are held by institutional investors. 0.7% of Freeport-McMoRan shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Ramaco Resources and Freeport-McMoRan”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Ramaco Resources	$536.62 million	0.53	-$51.45 million	($1.07)	-4.17
Freeport-McMoRan	$25.91 billion	4.08	$2.20 billion	$2.03	36.29

Freeport-McMoRan has higher revenue and earnings than Ramaco Resources. Ramaco Resources is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Freeport-McMoRan, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent recommendations for Ramaco Resources and Freeport-McMoRan, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Ramaco Resources	1	0	0	0	1.00
Freeport-McMoRan	0	4	20	1	2.88

Freeport-McMoRan has a consensus price target of $76.22, suggesting a potential upside of 3.45%. Given Freeport-McMoRan’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Freeport-McMoRan is more favorable than Ramaco Resources.

Profitability

This table compares Ramaco Resources and Freeport-McMoRan’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Ramaco Resources	-11.98%	-13.54%	-6.01%
Freeport-McMoRan	11.39%	10.63%	5.69%

Summary

Freeport-McMoRan beats Ramaco Resources on 15 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Ramaco Resources

Ramaco Resources, Inc. engages in the development, operation, and sale of metallurgical coal. Its development portfolio includes the Elk Creek project that covers an area of approximately 20,200 acres located in southern West Virginia; the Berwind property covering an area of approximately 62,500 acres situated on the border of West Virginia and Virginia; the Knox Creek property, which covers an area of approximately 64,050 acres is located in Virginia; the Maben property covering an area of approximately 28,000 acres situated in southwestern Pennsylvania southern West Virginia; and the Brook Mine property that covers an area of approximately 16,000 acres located in northeastern Wyoming. The company serves blast furnace steel mills and coke plants in the United States, as well as metallurgical coal consumers internationally. Ramaco Resources, Inc. was founded in 2015 and is headquartered in Lexington, Kentucky.

About Freeport-McMoRan

Freeport-McMoRan Inc. engages in the mining of mineral properties in North America, South America, and Indonesia. It primarily explores for copper, gold, molybdenum, silver, and other metals. The company's assets include the Grasberg minerals district in Indonesia; Morenci, Bagdad, Safford, Sierrita, and Miami in Arizona; Chino and Tyrone in New Mexico; and Henderson and Climax in Colorado, North America, as well as Cerro Verde in Peru and El Abra in Chile. The company was formerly known as Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. and changed its name to Freeport-McMoRan Inc. in July 2014. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. was incorporated in 1987 and is headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona.