Reviewing Triple Flag Precious Metals (NYSE:TFPM) & Sandstorm Gold (NYSE:SAND)

Sandstorm Gold (NYSE:SAND) and Triple Flag Precious Metals (NYSE:TFPM) are both mid-cap basic materials companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, risk, earnings, institutional ownership, valuation, dividends and profitability.

Volatility and Risk

Sandstorm Gold has a beta of 0.51, meaning that its share price is 49% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Triple Flag Precious Metals has a beta of -0.18, meaning that its share price is 118% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

52.0% of Sandstorm Gold shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 82.9% of Triple Flag Precious Metals shares are held by institutional investors. 1.5% of Sandstorm Gold shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Sandstorm Gold and Triple Flag Precious Metals’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Sandstorm Gold	17.78%	2.38%	1.87%
Triple Flag Precious Metals	53.11%	8.81%	8.60%

Dividends

Sandstorm Gold pays an annual dividend of $0.06 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.5%. Triple Flag Precious Metals pays an annual dividend of $0.23 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.8%. Sandstorm Gold pays out 50.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Triple Flag Precious Metals pays out 26.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Triple Flag Precious Metals has increased its dividend for 2 consecutive years. Triple Flag Precious Metals is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Sandstorm Gold and Triple Flag Precious Metals”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Sandstorm Gold	$176.28 million	20.94	$14.29 million	$0.12	104.29
Triple Flag Precious Metals	$268.99 million	22.86	-$23.08 million	$0.86	34.61

Sandstorm Gold has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Triple Flag Precious Metals. Triple Flag Precious Metals is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Sandstorm Gold, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings for Sandstorm Gold and Triple Flag Precious Metals, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Sandstorm Gold	1	3	4	0	2.38
Triple Flag Precious Metals	0	3	5	2	2.90

Sandstorm Gold currently has a consensus price target of $10.15, indicating a potential downside of 18.90%. Triple Flag Precious Metals has a consensus price target of $24.00, indicating a potential downside of 19.37%. Given Sandstorm Gold’s higher probable upside, equities research analysts clearly believe Sandstorm Gold is more favorable than Triple Flag Precious Metals.

Summary

Triple Flag Precious Metals beats Sandstorm Gold on 13 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Sandstorm Gold

Sandstorm Gold Ltd. operates as a gold royalty company. The company focuses on acquiring royalties and gold and other metals purchase agreements from companies that have advanced stage operating mines. It offers upfront payments for companies to acquire a stream and receives the right to purchase a percentage of a mine's production for the life of the mine. The company has a portfolio of 243 streams and royalties. It primarily has operations in Canada, Mexico, the United States, Mongolia, Burkina Faso, Ecuador, South Africa, Ghana, Botswana, Cote D'Ivoire, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Peru, Egypt, Ethiopia, Guyana, Paraguay, French Guiana, Turkey, Sweden, Fiji, and Australia. The company was formerly known as Sandstorm Resources Ltd. and changed its name to Sandstorm Gold Ltd. in February 2011. Sandstorm Gold Ltd. was incorporated in 2007 and is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada.

About Triple Flag Precious Metals

Triple Flag Precious Metals Corp., a precious-metals-focused streaming and royalty company, engages in acquiring and managing precious metals, streams, royalties and other mineral interests in Australia, Canada, Colombia, Cote d'Ivoire, Honduras, Mexico, Mongolia, Peru, South Africa, the United States, and internationally. The company has a portfolio of streams and royalties providing exposure to gold, silver, nickel, copper, zinc, and lead. It holds a royalty interest in the Beta Hunt mine located in Pert, Wester Australia; the Camino Rojo gold and silver mine located in Mexico; the El Mochito polymetallic mine located in north-western Honduras; and La Colorada polymetallic mine located in Mexico. Triple Flag Precious Metals Corp. was founded in 2016 and is based in Toronto, Canada.