Head to Head Survey: AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) vs. i-80 Gold (NYSE:IAUX)

i-80 Gold (NYSE:IAUX) and AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) are both materials companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, profitability, analyst recommendations, dividends, institutional ownership, valuation and risk.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares i-80 Gold and AngloGold Ashanti”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
i-80 Gold	$130.76 million	9.42	-$65.20 million	($0.31)	-4.58
AngloGold Ashanti	$9.89 billion	4.74	$2.64 billion	$7.46	12.46

AngloGold Ashanti has higher revenue and earnings than i-80 Gold. i-80 Gold is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than AngloGold Ashanti, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations for i-80 Gold and AngloGold Ashanti, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
i-80 Gold	0	0	1	0	3.00
AngloGold Ashanti	0	3	8	3	3.00

i-80 Gold presently has a consensus price target of $2.75, suggesting a potential upside of 93.66%. AngloGold Ashanti has a consensus price target of $118.35, suggesting a potential upside of 27.31%. Given i-80 Gold’s higher possible upside, equities analysts clearly believe i-80 Gold is more favorable than AngloGold Ashanti.

Volatility & Risk

i-80 Gold has a beta of 1.27, suggesting that its stock price is 27% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, AngloGold Ashanti has a beta of 0.72, suggesting that its stock price is 28% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares i-80 Gold and AngloGold Ashanti’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
i-80 Gold	-231.43%	-21.18%	-12.67%
AngloGold Ashanti	32.63%	39.17%	26.23%

Institutional & Insider Ownership

61.3% of i-80 Gold shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 36.1% of AngloGold Ashanti shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.4% of i-80 Gold shares are owned by company 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.

Summary

AngloGold Ashanti beats i-80 Gold on 9 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About i-80 Gold

i-80 Gold Corp. is a mining company, engages in the exploration, development and production of gold and silver mineral deposits principally in the United States. i-80 Gold Corp. is based in Reno, Nevada.

About AngloGold Ashanti

AngloGold Ashanti plc operates as a gold mining company in Africa, Australia, and the Americas. The company primarily explores for gold, as well as produces silver and sulphuric acid as by-products. Its flagship property is a 100% owned Geita mine located in the Lake Victoria goldfields of the Mwanza region in north-western Tanzania. AngloGold Ashanti plc was incorporated in 1944 and is headquartered in Greenwood Village, Colorado.