Financial Comparison: McEwen (NYSE:MUX) vs. DPM Metals (OTCMKTS:DPMLF)

McEwen (NYSE:MUX) and DPM Metals (OTCMKTS:DPMLF) are both materials companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, profitability, analyst recommendations, dividends, valuation, earnings and risk.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares McEwen and DPM Metals”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
McEwen	$197.55 million	5.73	$34.43 million	$1.26	14.65
DPM Metals	$950.48 million	9.58	$369.23 million	$3.04	13.66

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

Profitability

This table compares McEwen and DPM Metals’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
McEwen	32.46%	13.48%	9.13%
DPM Metals	50.26%	25.66%	21.67%

Volatility and Risk

McEwen has a beta of 1.26, meaning that its stock price is 26% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, DPM Metals has a beta of 0.69, meaning that its stock price is 31% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings for McEwen and DPM Metals, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
McEwen	0	2	3	0	2.60
DPM Metals	0	2	3	1	2.83

McEwen currently has a consensus target price of $28.00, suggesting a potential upside of 51.68%. Given McEwen’s higher possible upside, equities research analysts clearly believe McEwen is more favorable than DPM Metals.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

17.0% of McEwen shares are held by institutional investors. 14.8% of McEwen shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.3% of DPM Metals shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

DPM Metals beats McEwen on 9 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About McEwen

McEwen Mining Inc. engages in the exploration, development, production, and sale of gold and silver. It also explores for copper deposits. The company owns 100% interests in the El Gallo and Fenix projects located in Mexico; and the Black Fox Mine and Stock Mill, Grey Fox, and Froome and Tamarack properties in Canada. It also owns interests in the Fuller, Davidson-Tisdale, Buffalo Ankerite, and Paymaster exploration properties located in Canada; and a 49% interest in the San José mine located in Argentina. In addition, the company owns 100% interests in the Gold Bar and Tonkin properties located in Eureka County, Nevada; and interests in the Los Azules copper project located in the cordilleran region in the province of San Juan, Argentina. The company was formerly known as US Gold Corporation and changed its name to McEwen Mining Inc. in January 2012. McEwen Mining Inc. was founded in 1979 and is headquartered in Toronto, Canada.

About DPM Metals

Dundee Precious Metals Inc., a gold mining company, engages in the acquisition, exploration, development, mining, and processing of precious metals. The company primarily explores for gold, copper, and silver deposits. It holds a portfolio of projects located in Bulgaria, Namibia, Serbia, and Ecuador. The company is based in Toronto, Canada.