Analyzing Wheaton Precious Metals (NYSE:WPM) & Paladin Energy (OTCMKTS:PALAF)

Paladin Energy (OTCMKTS:PALAF) and Wheaton Precious Metals (NYSE:WPM) are both basic materials companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, earnings, profitability, valuation, dividends and risk.

Profitability

This table compares Paladin Energy and Wheaton Precious Metals’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Paladin Energy	N/A	N/A	N/A
Wheaton Precious Metals	54.72%	13.32%	12.89%

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Paladin Energy and Wheaton Precious Metals”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Paladin Energy	$177.68 million	18.36	-$44.64 million	($0.12)	-60.50
Wheaton Precious Metals	$1.83 billion	30.71	$529.14 million	$2.20	56.28

Wheaton Precious Metals has higher revenue and earnings than Paladin Energy. Paladin Energy is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Wheaton Precious Metals, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

0.0% of Paladin Energy shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 70.3% of Wheaton Precious Metals shares are held by institutional investors. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings and target prices for Paladin Energy and Wheaton Precious Metals, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Paladin Energy	0	4	0	0	2.00
Wheaton Precious Metals	0	2	10	1	2.92

Paladin Energy currently has a consensus target price of $9.05, suggesting a potential upside of 24.66%. Wheaton Precious Metals has a consensus target price of $130.78, suggesting a potential upside of 5.63%. Given Paladin Energy’s higher possible upside, research analysts clearly believe Paladin Energy is more favorable than Wheaton Precious Metals.

Risk and Volatility

Paladin Energy has a beta of 1.34, suggesting that its share price is 34% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Wheaton Precious Metals has a beta of 0.52, suggesting that its share price is 48% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Wheaton Precious Metals beats Paladin Energy on 12 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Paladin Energy

Paladin Energy Ltd develops, explores for, owns, and operates uranium mines in Australia, Canada, and Africa. The company operates through Exploration, Namibia, and Australia segments. Its flagship project is the Langer Heinrich mine located in the Namib Desert in Namibia. The company was formerly known as Paladin Resources Ltd and changed its name to Paladin Energy Limited in November 2007. Paladin Energy Ltd was incorporated in 1993 and is headquartered in Perth, Australia.

About Wheaton Precious Metals

Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. primarily sells precious metals in North America, Europe, and South America. It produces and sells gold, silver, palladium, and cobalt deposits. The company was formerly known as Silver Wheaton Corp. and changed its name to Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. in May 2017. Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. was founded in 2004 and is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada.