Santacruz Silver Mining (OTCMKTS:SCZMF) & Taseko Mines (NYSE:TGB) Critical Analysis

Taseko Mines (NYSE:TGB) and Santacruz Silver Mining (OTCMKTS:SCZMF) are both basic materials companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, dividends, institutional ownership, risk, earnings, profitability and analyst recommendations.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current recommendations for Taseko Mines and Santacruz Silver Mining, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Taseko Mines	0	1	1	0	2.50
Santacruz Silver Mining	0	0	0	0	0.00

Taseko Mines currently has a consensus price target of $5.00, suggesting a potential downside of 3.47%. Given Taseko Mines’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Taseko Mines is more favorable than Santacruz Silver Mining.

Profitability

This table compares Taseko Mines and Santacruz Silver Mining’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Taseko Mines	-2.09%	12.04%	2.89%
Santacruz Silver Mining	N/A	N/A	N/A

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Taseko Mines and Santacruz Silver Mining”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Taseko Mines	$596.94 million	3.13	$61.28 million	($0.13)	-39.85
Santacruz Silver Mining	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A

Taseko Mines has higher revenue and earnings than Santacruz Silver Mining.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

17.9% of Taseko Mines shares are owned by institutional investors. 2.3% of Taseko Mines shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Taseko Mines beats Santacruz Silver Mining on 8 of the 9 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Taseko Mines

Taseko Mines Limited, a mining company, acquires, develops, and operates mineral properties. It explores for copper, molybdenum, gold, niobium, and silver deposits. The company’s principal asset comprises 100% interest owned the Gibraltar mine located in British Columbia. It also holds interest in the Yellowhead copper project, the Aley niobium project, and the New Prosperity gold and copper project located in British Columbia; and the Florence copper project located in Arizona. Taseko Mines Limited was incorporated in 1966 and is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada.