RCF Acquisition (NYSE:RCFA) and Vista Gold (NYSE:VGZ) Head-To-Head Contrast

RCF Acquisition (NYSE:RCFA) and Vista Gold (NYSE:VGZ) are both small-cap basic materials companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, earnings, risk, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, dividends and valuation.

Profitability

This table compares RCF Acquisition and Vista Gold’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
RCF Acquisition	N/A	-37.34%	4.24%
Vista Gold	N/A	128.18%	86.87%

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares RCF Acquisition and Vista Gold’s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
RCF Acquisition	N/A	N/A	$4.74 million	N/A	N/A
Vista Gold	N/A	N/A	-$6.59 million	($0.04)	-12.35

Risk & Volatility

RCF Acquisition has a beta of -0.02, meaning that its stock price is 102% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Vista Gold has a beta of 1.66, meaning that its stock price is 66% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

24.6% of RCF Acquisition shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 27.3% of Vista Gold shares are owned by institutional investors. 19.9% of RCF Acquisition shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 4.2% of Vista Gold shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and recommmendations for RCF Acquisition and Vista Gold, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
RCF Acquisition	0	0	0	0	N/A
Vista Gold	0	0	1	0	3.00

Vista Gold has a consensus target price of $2.75, suggesting a potential upside of 456.91%. Given Vista Gold’s higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Vista Gold is more favorable than RCF Acquisition.

Summary

Vista Gold beats RCF Acquisition on 6 of the 8 factors compared between the two stocks.

About RCF Acquisition

RCF Acquisition Corp. does not have significant operations. It focuses to target assets or businesses of scale across the critical minerals value chain that are poised to benefit over the long-term from the substantial market opportunity created by the global energy transition. The company was incorporated in 2021 and is based in Denver, Colorado.

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.