Comparing NexGen Energy (NYSE:NXE) & Ivanhoe Mines (OTCMKTS:IVPAF)

Ivanhoe Mines (OTCMKTS:IVPAF) and NexGen Energy (NYSE:NXE) are both basic materials companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, risk, profitability, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, dividends and earnings.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and target prices for Ivanhoe Mines and NexGen Energy, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Ivanhoe Mines	0	1	5	3	3.22
NexGen Energy	1	1	4	1	2.71

Ivanhoe Mines currently has a consensus target price of $15.20, indicating a potential upside of 20.16%. Given Ivanhoe Mines’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Ivanhoe Mines is more favorable than NexGen Energy.

Profitability

This table compares Ivanhoe Mines and NexGen Energy’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Ivanhoe Mines	89.02%	5.99%	4.62%
NexGen Energy	N/A	-21.35%	-14.24%

Insider & Institutional Ownership

42.4% of NexGen Energy shares are owned by institutional investors. 5.6% of NexGen Energy shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Ivanhoe Mines and NexGen Energy”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Ivanhoe Mines	$40.82 million	441.47	$228.13 million	$0.22	57.50
NexGen Energy	N/A	N/A	-$56.60 million	($0.41)	-30.63

Ivanhoe Mines has higher revenue and earnings than NexGen Energy. NexGen Energy is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Ivanhoe Mines, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

Ivanhoe Mines beats NexGen Energy on 11 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Ivanhoe Mines

Ivanhoe Mines Ltd. engages in the mining, development, and exploration of minerals and precious metals primarily in Africa. It explores for platinum, palladium, nickel, copper, gold, rhodium, zinc, silver, germanium, and lead deposits. The company's projects include the Platreef project located in the Northern Limb of South Africa's Bushveld Complex; the Kipushi project located in Haut-Katanga Province, Democratic Republic of Congo; and the Kamoa-Kakula project located within the Central African Copperbelt. It also holds a 100% interest in the Western Foreland exploration project covering an area of approximately 2,407 square kilometers located in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The company was formerly known as Ivanplats Limited and changed its name to Ivanhoe Mines Ltd. in August 2013. The company was incorporated in 1993 and is based in Vancouver, Canada.

About NexGen Energy

NexGen Energy Ltd., an exploration and development stage company, engages in the acquisition, exploration, and evaluation and development of uranium properties in Canada. It holds a 100% interest in the Rook I project that consists of 32 contiguous mineral claims totaling an area of 35,065 hectares located in the southwestern Athabasca Basin of Saskatchewan. The company is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada.