Head-To-Head Analysis: Materion (NYSE:MTRN) and Silver Standard Resources (NASDAQ:SSRM)

Materion (NYSE:MTRN) and Silver Standard Resources (NASDAQ:SSRM) are both mid-cap basic materials companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, dividends, profitability, risk and earnings.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

93.6% of Materion shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 68.3% of Silver Standard Resources shares are owned by institutional investors. 2.6% of Materion shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 0.5% of Silver Standard Resources shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current recommendations for Materion and Silver Standard Resources, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Materion	0	2	1	0	2.33
Silver Standard Resources	1	6	2	1	2.30

Materion presently has a consensus price target of $117.00, indicating a potential downside of 9.04%. Silver Standard Resources has a consensus price target of $20.00, indicating a potential downside of 7.06%. Given Silver Standard Resources’ higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Silver Standard Resources is more favorable than Materion.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Materion and Silver Standard Resources”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Materion	$1.73 billion	1.54	$5.89 million	$0.95	135.39
Silver Standard Resources	$1.43 billion	3.05	-$261.28 million	$1.04	20.69

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

Volatility & Risk

Materion has a beta of 0.86, meaning that its stock price is 14% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Silver Standard Resources has a beta of -0.11, meaning that its stock price is 111% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

Materion pays an annual dividend of $0.56 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.4%. Silver Standard Resources pays an annual dividend of $0.14 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.7%. Materion pays out 58.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Silver Standard Resources pays out 13.5% 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. Materion has raised its dividend for 13 consecutive years. Silver Standard Resources is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Profitability

This table compares Materion and Silver Standard Resources’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Materion	1.12%	12.66%	6.53%
Silver Standard Resources	15.36%	6.46%	4.64%

Summary

Materion beats Silver Standard Resources on 10 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Materion

Materion Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, produces advanced engineered materials used in semiconductor, industrial, aerospace and defense, automotive, energy, consumer electronics, and telecom and data center in the United States, Asia, Europe, and internationally. The company operates in four segments: Performance Materials, Electronic Materials, Precision Optics, and Other. The company provides advanced engineered solutions comprising beryllium and non-beryllium containing alloy systems and custom engineered parts in strip, bulk, rod, plate, bar, tube, and other customized shapes; engineering and product development services; alloyed metals, beryllium products, and beryllium hydroxide; precision strip, rod, and wire products, as well as engineered strip metal products; and ToughMet alloys and SupremEX aluminum silicon carbide metal matrix composite formulation products. It operates the bertrandite ore mine and refinery located in Utah that provides feedstock hydroxide for its beryllium businesses and external sale. In addition, it produces advanced chemicals, microelectronics packaging, precious metal, non-precious metal, and specialty metal products, including vapor deposition targets, frame lid assemblies, clad and precious metal pre-forms, high temperature braze materials, and ultra-pure wire. Further, the company designs and produces precision thin film coatings, optical filters, and assemblies. The company sells its products directly from its facilities, as well as through company-owned service centers, outside distributors, agents, direct sales offices, and independent sales representatives. The company was formerly known as Brush Engineered Materials Inc. and changed its name to Materion Corporation in March 2011. Materion Corporation was founded in 1921 and is headquartered in Mayfield Heights, Ohio.

About Silver Standard Resources

SSR Mining Inc., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the operation, acquisition, exploration, and development of precious metal resource properties in the United States, Türkiye, Canada, and Argentina. The company explores for gold doré, copper, silver, lead, and zinc deposits. Its mines include the Çöpler, located in Erzincan province, Turkey; the Marigold, located in Nevada, the United States; the Seabee, located in Saskatchewan, Canada; and the Puna, located in Jujuy province, Argentina. The company was formerly known as Silver Standard Resources Inc. and changed its name to SSR Mining Inc. in August 2017. SSR Mining Inc. was incorporated in 1946 and is based in Denver, Colorado.