Critical Contrast: Alpha Metallurgical Resources (NYSE:AMR) versus Lithium Americas (NYSE:LAC)

Lithium Americas (NYSE:LAC) and Alpha Metallurgical Resources (NYSE:AMR) are both small-cap basic materials companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, dividends, profitability, analyst recommendations, valuation, earnings and risk.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Lithium Americas and Alpha Metallurgical Resources”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Lithium Americas	N/A	N/A	-$42.53 million	($0.23)	-12.33
Alpha Metallurgical Resources	$2.96 billion	0.62	$187.58 million	($2.85)	-49.23

Alpha Metallurgical Resources has higher revenue and earnings than Lithium Americas. Alpha Metallurgical Resources is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Lithium Americas, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

84.3% of Alpha Metallurgical Resources shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.1% of Lithium Americas shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 16.0% of Alpha Metallurgical Resources shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Lithium Americas and Alpha Metallurgical Resources’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Lithium Americas	N/A	-7.66%	-4.74%
Alpha Metallurgical Resources	-1.57%	-2.28%	-1.54%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current recommendations for Lithium Americas and Alpha Metallurgical Resources, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Lithium Americas	0	6	2	0	2.25
Alpha Metallurgical Resources	0	2	1	0	2.33

Lithium Americas presently has a consensus target price of $4.15, indicating a potential upside of 46.38%. Alpha Metallurgical Resources has a consensus target price of $160.50, indicating a potential upside of 14.40%. Given Lithium Americas’ higher probable upside, research analysts plainly believe Lithium Americas is more favorable than Alpha Metallurgical Resources.

Risk and Volatility

Lithium Americas has a beta of 0.7, indicating that its stock price is 30% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Alpha Metallurgical Resources has a beta of 0.64, indicating that its stock price is 36% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Alpha Metallurgical Resources beats Lithium Americas on 7 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Lithium Americas

Lithium Americas Corp. engages in the exploration and development of lithium properties in the United States and Canada. It holds a 100% interest in the Thacker Pass project located in northern Nevada, as well as investments in exploration properties in the United States and Canada. Lithium Americas Corp. was incorporated in 2023 and is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada.

About Alpha Metallurgical Resources

Alpha Metallurgical Resources, Inc., a mining company, produces, processes, and sells met and thermal coal in Virginia and West Virginia. The company offers metallurgical coal products. It operates twenty-two active mines and nine coal preparation and load-out facilities. The company was formerly known as Contura Energy, Inc. and changed its name to Alpha Metallurgical Resources, Inc. in February 2021. Alpha Metallurgical Resources, Inc. was incorporated in 2016 and is headquartered in Bristol, Tennessee.