Rio Tinto (NYSE:RIO) & Surge Battery Metals (OTCMKTS:NILIF) Critical Analysis

Surge Battery Metals (OTCMKTS:NILIF) and Rio Tinto (NYSE:RIO) are both basic materials companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, earnings, risk, institutional ownership, profitability, analyst recommendations and valuation.

Volatility and Risk

Surge Battery Metals has a beta of 0.47, suggesting that its stock price is 53% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Rio Tinto has a beta of 0.55, suggesting that its stock price is 45% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Surge Battery Metals and Rio Tinto”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Surge Battery Metals	N/A	N/A	-$7.19 million	($0.04)	-15.03
Rio Tinto	$53.66 billion	2.18	$11.55 billion	N/A	N/A

Rio Tinto has higher revenue and earnings than Surge Battery Metals.

Profitability

This table compares Surge Battery Metals and Rio Tinto’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Surge Battery Metals	N/A	-59.46%	-57.62%
Rio Tinto	N/A	N/A	N/A

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings and price targets for Surge Battery Metals and Rio Tinto, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Surge Battery Metals	0	0	0	0	0.00
Rio Tinto	0	9	4	3	2.63

Rio Tinto has a consensus target price of $85.00, suggesting a potential downside of 8.92%. Given Rio Tinto’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Rio Tinto is more favorable than Surge Battery Metals.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

19.3% of Rio Tinto shares are held by institutional investors. 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.

Summary

Rio Tinto beats Surge Battery Metals on 10 of the 10 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Surge Battery Metals

Surge Battery Metals Inc., an exploration stage company, engages in the acquisition, exploration, and development of mineral properties in North America. It primarily explores for lithium and nickel. The company's flagship property is the 100% owned Nevada North lithium project consisting of 243 mineral claims located in Elko County, Nevada. The company was formerly known as Copper Creek Gold Corp. and changed its name to Surge Exploration Inc. in April 2018. Surge Battery Metals Inc. was incorporated in 1987 and is based in Vancouver, Canada.

About Rio Tinto

Rio Tinto Group engages in exploring, mining, and processing mineral resources worldwide. The company operates through Iron Ore, Aluminium, Copper, and Minerals Segments. The Iron Ore segment engages in the iron ore mining, and salt and gypsum production in Western Australia. The Aluminum segment is involved in bauxite mining; alumina refining; and aluminium smelting. The Copper segment engages in mining and refining of copper, gold, silver, molybdenum, and other by-products and exploration activities. The Minerals segment is involved in mining and processing of borates, titanium dioxide feedstock, and iron concentrate and pellets; diamond mining, sorting, and marketing; and development projects for battery materials, such as lithium. It also owns and operates open pit and underground mines; and refineries, smelters, processing plants and power, and shipping facilities. Rio Tinto Group was founded in 1873 and is headquartered in London, the United Kingdom.