Critical Analysis: Capstone Copper (OTCMKTS:CSFFF) & Norsk Hydro ASA (OTCMKTS:NHYDY)

Norsk Hydro ASA (OTCMKTS:NHYDY) and Capstone Copper (OTCMKTS:CSFFF) are both basic materials companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, dividends, valuation, earnings and profitability.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings and recommmendations for Norsk Hydro ASA and Capstone Copper, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Norsk Hydro ASA	2	7	2	1	2.17
Capstone Copper	0	0	0	0	0.00

Given Capstone Copper’s higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Capstone Copper is more favorable than Norsk Hydro ASA.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Norsk Hydro ASA and Capstone Copper”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Norsk Hydro ASA	$20.05 billion	0.89	$647.52 million	$0.52	17.40
Capstone Copper	$1.60 billion	0.00	$82.91 million	$0.11	N/A

Norsk Hydro ASA has higher revenue and earnings than Capstone Copper. Capstone Copper is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Norsk Hydro ASA, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares Norsk Hydro ASA and Capstone Copper’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Norsk Hydro ASA	4.90%	12.01%	6.28%
Capstone Copper	14.67%	3.23%	1.72%

Institutional & Insider Ownership

0.0% of Norsk Hydro ASA shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 0.6% of Capstone Copper shares are held by institutional investors. 0.0% of Norsk Hydro ASA shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

Norsk Hydro ASA beats Capstone Copper on 9 of the 12 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Norsk Hydro ASA

Norsk Hydro ASA engages in the power production, bauxite extraction, alumina refining, aluminium smelting, and recycling activities; and provision of extruded solutions worldwide. It operates through Hydro Bauxite & Alumina, Hydro Aluminium Metal, Hydro Metal Markets, Hydro Extrusions, and Hydro Energy segments. The Hydro Bauxite & Alumina segment engages in bauxite mining activities, production of alumina, and related commercial activities, primarily the sale of alumina. The Hydro Aluminium Metal segment is involved in the primary aluminum production casting activities. This segment principally offers extrusion ingots, foundry alloys, and sheet and standard ingots. The Metal Markets segment sells products from the company’s primary metal plants; operates recyclers; and trades in physical and financial metals. The Hydro Extrusions segment offers extrusion profiles, building systems, and precision tubing products for construction, automotive and heating, and ventilation and air conditioning sectors, as well as operates recycling facilities. The Hydro Energy segment engages in the trading and wholesale business in Brazil; energy sourcing operations; and operation of power stations in Norway, as well as renewable energy production, such as wind and solar, battery materials, and green hydrogen. Norsk Hydro ASA was founded in 1905 and is headquartered in Oslo, Norway.

About Capstone Copper

Capstone Mining Corp. engages in the exploration and production of base metals in the United States, Mexico, Canada, and Chile. The company explores for copper, molybdenum, silver, zinc, lead, iron, and gold deposits. It holds interests in the Pinto Valley, an open pit copper mine located in Arizona, the United States; and the Cozamin, a copper-silver underground mine located in the state of Zacatecas, Mexico. The company also owns a 100% interest in copper-iron-gold Santo Domingo development project in Region III, Chile. The company was formerly known as Capstone Gold Corp. and changed its name to Capstone Mining Corp. in February 2006. The company is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada.