Financial Review: Western Copper & Gold (NYSE:WRN) vs. Centamin (OTCMKTS:CELTF)

Western Copper & Gold (NYSE:WRN) and Centamin (OTCMKTS:CELTF) are both basic materials companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, risk, institutional ownership, earnings, dividends, analyst recommendations and valuation.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current recommendations and price targets for Western Copper & Gold and Centamin, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Western Copper & Gold	0	0	4	1	3.20
Centamin	0	0	0	0	0.00

Western Copper & Gold currently has a consensus target price of $4.25, suggesting a potential upside of 310.63%. Given Western Copper & Gold’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, research analysts clearly believe Western Copper & Gold is more favorable than Centamin.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

22.0% of Western Copper & Gold shares are owned by institutional investors. 4.6% of Western Copper & Gold shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Western Copper & Gold and Centamin”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Western Copper & Gold	N/A	N/A	-$2.47 million	($0.02)	-51.75
Centamin	$891.26 million	2.45	$92.28 million	N/A	N/A

Centamin has higher revenue and earnings than Western Copper & Gold.

Risk and Volatility

Western Copper & Gold has a beta of 1.77, meaning that its share price is 77% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Centamin has a beta of 0.84, meaning that its share price is 16% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Western Copper & Gold and Centamin’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Western Copper & Gold	N/A	-3.53%	-3.45%
Centamin	N/A	N/A	N/A

Summary

Western Copper & Gold beats Centamin on 7 of the 11 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Western Copper & Gold

Western Copper & Gold Corp. operates as an exploration stage company, which engages in the acquisition, exploration, and future development of mineral resource properties. It currently focuses on the development of the Casino Project. The company was founded on March 17, 2006 and is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada.

About Centamin

Centamin plc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the exploration, mining, and development of gold and precious metals in Egypt, Côte d’Ivoire, Burkina Faso, Jersey, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Its principal asset is the Sukari Gold Mine project, which covers an area of approximately 160 square kilometers located in the Eastern Desert of Egypt. The company was incorporated in 2011 and is headquartered in Saint Helier, Jersey.