Financial Survey: U.S. Gold (NASDAQ:USAU) & International Tower Hill Mines (NYSE:THM)

International Tower Hill Mines (NYSE:THM) and U.S. Gold (NASDAQ:USAU) are both small-cap basic materials companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, risk, institutional ownership, valuation, dividends, earnings and profitability.

Risk and Volatility

International Tower Hill Mines has a beta of 0.68, suggesting that its stock price is 32% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, U.S. Gold has a beta of 1.51, suggesting that its stock price is 51% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

54.6% of International Tower Hill Mines shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 6.6% of U.S. Gold shares are owned by institutional investors. 2.5% of International Tower Hill Mines shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 11.1% of U.S. Gold shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares International Tower Hill Mines and U.S. Gold”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
International Tower Hill Mines	N/A	N/A	-$3.40 million	($0.01)	-86.80
U.S. Gold	N/A	N/A	-$6.90 million	($1.36)	-8.03

International Tower Hill Mines is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than U.S. Gold, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and target prices for International Tower Hill Mines and U.S. Gold, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
International Tower Hill Mines	0	0	0	0	0.00
U.S. Gold	0	0	3	0	3.00

U.S. Gold has a consensus target price of $12.50, suggesting a potential upside of 14.47%. Given U.S. Gold’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe U.S. Gold is more favorable than International Tower Hill Mines.

Profitability

This table compares International Tower Hill Mines and U.S. Gold’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
International Tower Hill Mines	N/A	-5.82%	-5.80%
U.S. Gold	N/A	-59.61%	-42.24%

Summary

U.S. Gold beats International Tower Hill Mines on 6 of the 11 factors compared between the two stocks.

About International Tower Hill Mines

International Tower Hill Mines Ltd. is a Canada-based resource exploration company possessing a portfolio of Alaskan and Nevada based gold and base metal exploration projects. The Company is currently focused on the Livengood Gold Project located in the north of Fairbanks, Alaska. International Tower Hill Mines Ltd. is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada.

About U.S. Gold

U.S. Gold Corp. engages in the exploration and development of gold and precious metals in the United States. It also explores for copper and silver deposits. The company holds 100% interests in the CK Gold project, which consists of various mining leases and other mineral rights covering approximately 1,120 acres in Laramie County, Wyoming; the Keystone project that consists of 601 unpatented lode mining claims covering approximately 20 square miles in Eureka County, Nevada; and the Challis Gold project, which consists of 77 unpatented lode mining claims covering approximately 1,710 acres in Lemhi County, Idaho. It also has earn-in agreement to acquire a 50% ownership interest in the Maggie Creek project located in Eureka County, Nevada. The company was formerly known as Dataram Corporation and changed its name to U.S. Gold Corp. in June 2017. U.S. Gold Corp. is based in Elko, Nevada.