Head-To-Head Contrast: Centerra Gold (NYSE:CGAU) & i-80 Gold (NYSE:IAUX)

i-80 Gold (NYSE:IAUX) and Centerra Gold (NYSE:CGAU) are both small-cap basic materials companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, earnings, risk, institutional ownership, valuation, analyst recommendations and dividends.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares i-80 Gold and Centerra Gold”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
i-80 Gold	$52.94 million	4.71	-$65.20 million	($0.36)	-1.57
Centerra Gold	$1.21 billion	1.07	-$81.28 million	$0.36	17.24

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

Institutional and Insider Ownership

61.3% of i-80 Gold shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 55.4% of Centerra Gold shares are held by institutional investors. 0.2% of Centerra Gold shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations and price targets for i-80 Gold and Centerra Gold, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
i-80 Gold	0	2	0	1	2.67
Centerra Gold	0	4	1	1	2.50

i-80 Gold presently has a consensus target price of $3.50, suggesting a potential upside of 520.57%. Centerra Gold has a consensus target price of $11.00, suggesting a potential upside of 77.28%. Given i-80 Gold’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, research analysts plainly believe i-80 Gold is more favorable than Centerra Gold.

Profitability

This table compares i-80 Gold and Centerra Gold’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%
Centerra Gold	6.62%	8.83%	6.61%

Risk and Volatility

i-80 Gold has a beta of 1.13, meaning that its share price is 13% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Centerra Gold has a beta of 0.92, meaning that its share price is 8% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Centerra Gold beats i-80 Gold on 8 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 Centerra Gold

Centerra Gold Inc., a gold mining company, engages in the acquisition, exploration, development, and operation of gold and copper properties in North America, Turkey, and internationally. The company explores for gold, copper, and molybdenum deposits. Its flagship projects are the 100% owned Mount Milligan gold-copper mine located in British Columbia, Canada; and the Öksüt gold mine located in Turkey. The company was incorporated in 2002 and is based in Toronto, Canada.