Comparing McEwen (NYSE:MUX) and Ero Copper (NYSE:ERO)

McEwen (NYSE:MUX) and Ero Copper (NYSE:ERO) are both materials companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, risk, valuation, profitability, earnings, analyst recommendations and institutional ownership.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and price targets for McEwen and Ero Copper, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
McEwen	0	2	2	0	2.50
Ero Copper	1	8	5	2	2.50

McEwen presently has a consensus price target of $29.50, suggesting a potential upside of 98.19%. Ero Copper has a consensus price target of $32.33, suggesting a potential upside of 6.77%. Given McEwen’s higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe McEwen is more favorable than Ero Copper.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

17.0% of McEwen shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 71.3% of Ero Copper shares are held by institutional investors. 14.8% of McEwen shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares McEwen and Ero Copper’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
McEwen	32.46%	13.48%	9.13%
Ero Copper	29.79%	30.32%	15.17%

Risk & Volatility

McEwen has a beta of 1.26, meaning that its stock price is 26% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Ero Copper has a beta of 1.27, meaning that its stock price is 27% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares McEwen and Ero Copper”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
McEwen	$197.55 million	4.62	$34.43 million	$1.26	11.81
Ero Copper	$785.80 million	4.02	$263.72 million	$2.98	10.16

Ero Copper has higher revenue and earnings than McEwen. Ero Copper is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than McEwen, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

Ero Copper beats McEwen on 9 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About McEwen

McEwen Mining Inc. engages in the exploration, development, production, and sale of gold and silver. It also explores for copper deposits. The company owns 100% interests in the El Gallo and Fenix projects located in Mexico; and the Black Fox Mine and Stock Mill, Grey Fox, and Froome and Tamarack properties in Canada. It also owns interests in the Fuller, Davidson-Tisdale, Buffalo Ankerite, and Paymaster exploration properties located in Canada; and a 49% interest in the San José mine located in Argentina. In addition, the company owns 100% interests in the Gold Bar and Tonkin properties located in Eureka County, Nevada; and interests in the Los Azules copper project located in the cordilleran region in the province of San Juan, Argentina. The company was formerly known as US Gold Corporation and changed its name to McEwen Mining Inc. in January 2012. McEwen Mining Inc. was founded in 1979 and is headquartered in Toronto, Canada.

About Ero Copper

Ero Copper Corp. engages in the exploration, development, and production of mining projects in Brazil. The company is involved in the production and sale of copper concentrate from the Caraíba operations located in the Curaçá Valley, northeastern Bahia state, Brazil, as well as gold and silver by-products. It also holds 100% interests in the Tucumã project, a copper development project located within southeastern Pará state; and the Xavantina Operations located in Mato Grosso state. Ero Copper Corp. was incorporated in 2016 and is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada.