Head-To-Head Survey: Allied Gold (NYSE:AAUC) versus Sandstorm Gold (NYSE:SAND)

Allied Gold (NYSE:AAUC) and Sandstorm Gold (NYSE:SAND) are both mid-cap basic materials companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, earnings, institutional ownership, risk, dividends, analyst recommendations and profitability.

Profitability

This table compares Allied Gold and Sandstorm Gold’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Allied Gold	-3.58%	24.32%	7.40%
Sandstorm Gold	17.78%	2.38%	1.87%

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Allied Gold and Sandstorm Gold”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Allied Gold	$730.38 million	2.84	-$115.63 million	($0.36)	-46.39
Sandstorm Gold	$193.59 million	18.52	$14.29 million	$0.12	101.29

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

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current recommendations for Allied Gold and Sandstorm Gold, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Allied Gold	1	1	0	1	2.33
Sandstorm Gold	1	3	4	0	2.38

Sandstorm Gold has a consensus target price of $10.15, indicating a potential downside of 16.50%. Given Sandstorm Gold’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Sandstorm Gold is more favorable than Allied Gold.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

52.0% of Sandstorm Gold shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.5% of Sandstorm Gold shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Sandstorm Gold beats Allied Gold on 10 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Allied Gold

Allied Gold Corporation is a gold producer. It operates a portfolio of producing assets and development projects located principally in Cote d’Ivoire, Mali and Ethiopia. Allied Gold Corporation is based in Canada.

About Sandstorm Gold

Sandstorm Gold Ltd. operates as a gold royalty company. The company focuses on acquiring royalties and gold and other metals purchase agreements from companies that have advanced stage operating mines. It offers upfront payments for companies to acquire a stream and receives the right to purchase a percentage of a mine's production for the life of the mine. The company has a portfolio of 243 streams and royalties. It primarily has operations in Canada, Mexico, the United States, Mongolia, Burkina Faso, Ecuador, South Africa, Ghana, Botswana, Cote D'Ivoire, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Peru, Egypt, Ethiopia, Guyana, Paraguay, French Guiana, Turkey, Sweden, Fiji, and Australia. The company was formerly known as Sandstorm Resources Ltd. and changed its name to Sandstorm Gold Ltd. in February 2011. Sandstorm Gold Ltd. was incorporated in 2007 and is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada.