Critical Review: Solgold (OTCMKTS:SLGGF) and US Gold (NASDAQ:USAU)

Solgold (OTCMKTS:SLGGF) and US Gold (NASDAQ:USAU) are both small-cap basic materials companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, risk, dividends, institutional ownership, earnings, valuation and analyst recommendations.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Solgold and US Gold”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Solgold	N/A	N/A	-$36.25 million	N/A	N/A
US Gold	N/A	N/A	-$20.56 million	($1.53)	-11.50

Insider & Institutional Ownership

6.6% of US Gold shares are held by institutional investors. 11.1% of US Gold shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings for Solgold and US Gold, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Solgold	0	0	0	0	0.00
US Gold	1	0	3	0	2.50

US Gold has a consensus target price of $17.33, indicating a potential downside of 1.52%. Given US Gold’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe US Gold is more favorable than Solgold.

Risk and Volatility

Solgold has a beta of 1.12, indicating that its share price is 12% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, US Gold has a beta of 1.2, indicating that its share price is 20% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Solgold	N/A	-14.84%	-7.44%
US Gold	N/A	-73.81%	-50.64%

Summary

US Gold beats Solgold on 7 of the 9 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Solgold

SolGold Plc, a mineral exploration and development company, explores for and develops mineral properties in Ecuador, Australia, Chile, and Solomon Islands. The company primarily explores for copper, gold, silver, and molybdenum deposits. Its flagship project is the Cascabel Project that covers an area of approximately 50 square kilometers located in Imbabura province, Northern Ecuador. The company was formerly known as Solomon Gold plc and changed its name to SolGold plc in May 2012. SolGold Plc was incorporated in 2005 and is headquartered in Brisbane, Australia.

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.