Head to Head Review: Vista Gold (NYSE:VGZ) & Northern Dynasty Minerals (NASDAQ:NAK)

Vista Gold (NYSE:VGZ) and Northern Dynasty Minerals (NASDAQ:NAK) are both small-cap basic materials companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, analyst recommendations, valuation, profitability, institutional ownership, risk and earnings.

Risk and Volatility

Vista Gold has a beta of 1.14, meaning that its share price is 14% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Northern Dynasty Minerals has a beta of 0.08, meaning that its share price is 92% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Vista Gold and Northern Dynasty Minerals”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Vista Gold	N/A	N/A	-$6.59 million	($0.07)	-31.64
Northern Dynasty Minerals	N/A	N/A	N/A	($0.12)	-15.25

Vista Gold is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Northern Dynasty Minerals, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings for Vista Gold and Northern Dynasty Minerals, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Vista Gold	0	0	1	0	3.00
Northern Dynasty Minerals	0	0	1	0	3.00

Vista Gold presently has a consensus target price of $3.00, indicating a potential upside of 35.44%. Northern Dynasty Minerals has a consensus target price of $2.50, indicating a potential upside of 36.61%. Given Northern Dynasty Minerals’ higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Northern Dynasty Minerals is more favorable than Vista Gold.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

27.3% of Vista Gold shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 10.6% of Northern Dynasty Minerals shares are held by institutional investors. 4.2% of Vista Gold shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 2.2% of Northern Dynasty Minerals shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Vista Gold and Northern Dynasty Minerals’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Vista Gold	N/A	93.43%	68.97%
Northern Dynasty Minerals	N/A	N/A	N/A

Summary

Vista Gold beats Northern Dynasty Minerals on 7 of the 8 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Vista Gold

Vista Gold Corp., together with its subsidiaries, acquires, explores, evaluates, and advances gold exploration and development projects in Australia. Its flagship asset is the 100% owned Mt Todd gold project located in Northern Territory, Australia. The company was incorporated in 1983 and is based in Englewood, Colorado.

About Northern Dynasty Minerals

Northern Dynasty Minerals Ltd. engages in the exploration of mineral properties in the United States. Its principal mineral property is the Pebble Copper-Gold-Molybdenum-Silver-Rhenium project comprising 1,840 mineral claims that covers an area of approximately 274 square miles located in southwest Alaska, 17 miles from the villages of Iliamna and Newhalen, and approximately 200 miles southwest of the city of Anchorage. The company was formerly known as Northern Dynasty Explorations Ltd. and changed its name to Northern Dynasty Minerals Ltd. in October 1997. Northern Dynasty Minerals Ltd. was incorporated in 1983 and is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada.