Financial Contrast: Sibanye Gold (NYSE:SBSW) and Norsk Hydro ASA (OTCMKTS:NHYDY)

Norsk Hydro ASA (OTCMKTS:NHYDY) and Sibanye Gold (NYSE:SBSW) are both large-cap basic materials companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, earnings, dividends, risk, valuation, institutional ownership and analyst recommendations.

Profitability

This table compares Norsk Hydro ASA and Sibanye Gold’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Norsk Hydro ASA	3.06%	9.44%	4.97%
Sibanye Gold	N/A	N/A	N/A

Risk and Volatility

Norsk Hydro ASA has a beta of 1.15, suggesting that its stock price is 15% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Sibanye Gold has a beta of 0.62, suggesting that its stock price is 38% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and price targets for Norsk Hydro ASA and Sibanye Gold, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Norsk Hydro ASA	3	5	2	0	1.90
Sibanye Gold	1	1	2	1	2.60

Sibanye Gold has a consensus price target of $19.93, indicating a potential upside of 25.17%. Given Sibanye Gold’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Sibanye Gold is more favorable than Norsk Hydro ASA.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

0.0% of Norsk Hydro ASA shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 34.9% of Sibanye Gold shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.0% of Norsk Hydro ASA shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 0.1% of Sibanye Gold shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Norsk Hydro ASA and Sibanye Gold”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Norsk Hydro ASA	$20.05 billion	0.89	$647.58 million	$0.31	28.97
Sibanye Gold	$6.12 billion	1.84	-$398.42 million	N/A	N/A

Norsk Hydro ASA has higher revenue and earnings than Sibanye Gold.

About Norsk Hydro ASA

Norsk Hydro ASA engages in the power production, bauxite extraction, alumina refining, aluminium smelting, and recycling activities; and provision of extruded solutions worldwide. It operates through Hydro Bauxite & Alumina, Hydro Aluminium Metal, Hydro Metal Markets, Hydro Extrusions, and Hydro Energy segments. The Hydro Bauxite & Alumina segment engages in bauxite mining activities, production of alumina, and related commercial activities, primarily the sale of alumina. The Hydro Aluminium Metal segment is involved in the primary aluminum production casting activities. This segment principally offers extrusion ingots, foundry alloys, and sheet and standard ingots. The Metal Markets segment sells products from the company’s primary metal plants; operates recyclers; and trades in physical and financial metals. The Hydro Extrusions segment offers extrusion profiles, building systems, and precision tubing products for construction, automotive and heating, and ventilation and air conditioning sectors, as well as operates recycling facilities. The Hydro Energy segment engages in the trading and wholesale business in Brazil; energy sourcing operations; and operation of power stations in Norway, as well as renewable energy production, such as wind and solar, battery materials, and green hydrogen. Norsk Hydro ASA was founded in 1905 and is headquartered in Oslo, Norway.

About Sibanye Gold

Sibanye Stillwater Limited, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a precious metals mining company in South Africa, the United States, Europe, and Australia. The company produces gold; platinum group metals (PGMs), including palladium, platinum, rhodium, iridium, and ruthenium; chrome; nickel; and silver, cobalt, and copper. It owns the East Boulder and Stillwater mines located in Montana, the United States; and Columbus metallurgical complex, which smelts the material mined to produce PGM-rich filter cake, as well as conducts PGM recycling activities. The company also involved in the Kroondal, Rustenburg, Marikana, and Platinum Mile operations situated in South Africa; Mimosa located on the southern portion in Zimbabwe; the Driefontein, Kloof, Rand Refinery, and Cooke surface operations located on the West Rand of the Witwatersrand Basin; and the Beatrix situated in the southern Free State. In addition, it owns an interest in surface tailings retreatment facilities; the Marathon PGM project in Ontario, Canada; the Altar and Rio Grande copper gold projects in the Andes in north-west Argentina; the Hoedspruit; and the Burnstone and southern Free State gold projects in South Africa. Sibanye Stillwater Limited was founded in 2013 and is headquartered in Weltevreden Park, South Africa.