Analyzing Ero Copper (NYSE:ERO) & 5N Plus (OTCMKTS:FPLSF)

Ero Copper (NYSE:ERO) and 5N Plus (OTCMKTS:FPLSF) are both small-cap basic materials companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, profitability, earnings, institutional ownership, valuation, dividends and risk.

Risk & Volatility

Ero Copper has a beta of 1.16, meaning that its share price is 16% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, 5N Plus has a beta of 1.89, meaning that its share price is 89% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Ero Copper and 5N Plus’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Ero Copper	26.63%	17.96%	8.06%
5N Plus	9.64%	24.47%	9.36%

Insider and Institutional Ownership

71.3% of Ero Copper shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 0.1% of 5N Plus shares are held by institutional investors. 3.9% of 5N Plus shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Ero Copper and 5N Plus”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Ero Copper	$470.26 million	3.16	-$68.47 million	$1.37	10.49
5N Plus	$289.28 million	3.35	$14.67 million	$0.36	30.23

5N Plus has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Ero Copper. Ero Copper is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than 5N Plus, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current recommendations for Ero Copper and 5N Plus, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Ero Copper	0	3	7	1	2.82
5N Plus	0	0	0	0	0.00

Ero Copper presently has a consensus price target of $23.50, indicating a potential upside of 63.59%. Given Ero Copper’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, research analysts clearly believe Ero Copper is more favorable than 5N Plus.

Summary

Ero Copper beats 5N Plus on 8 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Ero Copper

Ero Copper Corp. engages in the exploration, development, and production of mining projects in Brazil. The company is involved in the production and sale of copper concentrate from the Caraíba operations located in the Curaçá Valley, northeastern Bahia state, Brazil, as well as gold and silver by-products. It also holds 100% interests in the Tucumã project, a copper development project located within southeastern Pará state; and the Xavantina Operations located in Mato Grosso state. Ero Copper Corp. was incorporated in 2016 and is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada.

About 5N Plus

5N Plus Inc. produces and sells specialty metals and chemicals in North America, Europe, and Asia. It operates through two segments, Specialty Semiconductors and Performance Materials. The company offers semiconductor compounds, semiconductor wafers, metals, epitaxial semiconductor substrates, and solar cells. It also provides active pharmaceutical ingredients, animal feed additives, specialized chemicals, commercial grade metals, alloys, engineered powders, and recycling services. The company serves renewable energy, security, space, pharmaceutical, medical imaging, manufacturing, electronic, consumer, and industrial application markets. 5N Plus Inc. is headquartered in Montreal, Canada.