AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) vs. U.S. GoldMining (NASDAQ:USGO) Head to Head Analysis

AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) and U.S. GoldMining (NASDAQ:USGO) are both basic materials companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, dividends, analyst recommendations, profitability, risk, earnings and valuation.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

36.1% of AngloGold Ashanti shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 0.5% of U.S. GoldMining shares are owned by institutional investors. 2.5% of U.S. GoldMining shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares AngloGold Ashanti and U.S. GoldMining’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
AngloGold Ashanti	N/A	N/A	N/A
U.S. GoldMining	N/A	-71.04%	-65.02%

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares AngloGold Ashanti and U.S. GoldMining”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
AngloGold Ashanti	$6.59 billion	3.24	$1.00 billion	$3.04	16.74
U.S. GoldMining	N/A	N/A	-$9.36 million	($0.71)	-13.77

AngloGold Ashanti has higher revenue and earnings than U.S. GoldMining. U.S. GoldMining is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than AngloGold Ashanti, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Risk & Volatility

AngloGold Ashanti has a beta of 0.49, suggesting that its share price is 51% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, U.S. GoldMining has a beta of 2.15, suggesting that its share price is 115% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings for AngloGold Ashanti and U.S. GoldMining, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
AngloGold Ashanti	1	1	5	0	2.57
U.S. GoldMining	0	0	1	0	3.00

AngloGold Ashanti presently has a consensus target price of $43.08, suggesting a potential downside of 15.36%. U.S. GoldMining has a consensus target price of $26.50, suggesting a potential upside of 170.96%. Given U.S. GoldMining’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe U.S. GoldMining is more favorable than AngloGold Ashanti.

Summary

AngloGold Ashanti beats U.S. GoldMining on 8 of the 12 factors compared between the two stocks.

About AngloGold Ashanti

AngloGold Ashanti plc operates as a gold mining company in Africa, Australia, and the Americas. The company primarily explores for gold, as well as produces silver and sulphuric acid as by-products. Its flagship property is a 100% owned Geita mine located in the Lake Victoria goldfields of the Mwanza region in north-western Tanzania. AngloGold Ashanti plc was incorporated in 1944 and is headquartered in Greenwood Village, Colorado.

About U.S. GoldMining

U.S. GoldMining Inc., an exploration stage company, engages in the exploration and development of mineral properties in the United States. The company's primary asset is the 100%-owned Whistler exploration property, a gold-copper exploration project comprising mining claims totaling 53,700 acres located in Yentna Mining District, Alaska. The company was incorporated in 2015 and is based in Vancouver, Canada. U.S. GoldMining Inc. operates as a subsidiary of GoldMining Inc.