Critical Review: Western Copper & Gold (NYSE:WRN) and Quaterra Resources (OTCMKTS:QTRRF)

Quaterra Resources (OTCMKTS:QTRRF) and Western Copper & Gold (NYSE:WRN) are both small-cap basic materials companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, valuation, profitability, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, risk and dividends.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Quaterra Resources and Western Copper & Gold”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Quaterra Resources	N/A	N/A	-$980,000.00	N/A	N/A
Western Copper & Gold	N/A	N/A	-$2.47 million	($0.01)	-320.00

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current recommendations for Quaterra Resources and Western Copper & Gold, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Quaterra Resources	0	0	0	0	0.00
Western Copper & Gold	0	0	1	1	3.50

Western Copper & Gold has a consensus price target of $4.25, indicating a potential upside of 32.81%. Given Western Copper & Gold’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Western Copper & Gold is more favorable than Quaterra Resources.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

22.0% of Western Copper & Gold shares are held by institutional investors. 4.6% of Western Copper & Gold shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Quaterra Resources and Western Copper & Gold’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Quaterra Resources	N/A	-6.27%	-6.15%
Western Copper & Gold	N/A	-3.53%	-3.45%

Risk and Volatility

Quaterra Resources has a beta of 1.29, indicating that its share price is 29% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Western Copper & Gold has a beta of 1.07, indicating that its share price is 7% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Western Copper & Gold beats Quaterra Resources on 8 of the 10 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Quaterra Resources

Quaterra Resources, Inc. engages in the acquisition, exploration, and development of mineral properties. It holds interest in the Groundhog and Quaterra’s Yerington Copper projects. The company was founded on May 11, 1993 and is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada.

About Western Copper & Gold

Western Copper & Gold Corp. operates as an exploration stage company, which engages in the acquisition, exploration, and future development of mineral resource properties. It currently focuses on the development of the Casino Project. The company was founded on March 17, 2006 and is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada.