Head to Head Review: Rio Tinto (NYSE:RIO) and Blackstone Minerals (OTCMKTS:BLSTF)

Blackstone Minerals (OTCMKTS:BLSTF) and Rio Tinto (NYSE:RIO) are both basic materials companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, profitability, valuation, analyst recommendations, dividends, earnings and institutional ownership.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Blackstone Minerals and Rio Tinto”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Blackstone Minerals	$20,000.00	722.93	-$6.30 million	N/A	N/A
Rio Tinto	$57.64 billion	2.25	$9.97 billion	N/A	N/A

Rio Tinto has higher revenue and earnings than Blackstone Minerals.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

19.3% of Rio Tinto shares are owned by institutional investors. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares Blackstone Minerals and Rio Tinto’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Blackstone Minerals	N/A	N/A	N/A
Rio Tinto	N/A	N/A	N/A

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations and price targets for Blackstone Minerals and Rio Tinto, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Blackstone Minerals	0	0	0	0	0.00
Rio Tinto	0	11	4	0	2.27

Rio Tinto has a consensus target price of $101.75, suggesting a potential downside of 1.35%. Given Rio Tinto’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Rio Tinto is more favorable than Blackstone Minerals.

Risk & Volatility

Blackstone Minerals has a beta of 0.79, indicating that its stock price is 21% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Rio Tinto has a beta of 0.55, indicating that its stock price is 45% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Rio Tinto beats Blackstone Minerals on 6 of the 8 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Blackstone Minerals

Blackstone Minerals Limited engages in the exploration and development of mineral properties. The company primarily explores for nickel, cobalt, copper, gold, platinum, manganese, and palladium deposits. It holds a 100% interest in the Gold Bridge project, which covers an area of 367 square kilometers located in the British Columbia, Canada. The company also holds a 90% interest in the Ta Khoa project located in Son La Province, Vietnam. The company was incorporated in 2016 and is based in West Perth, Australia.

About Rio Tinto

Rio Tinto Group engages in exploring, mining, and processing mineral resources worldwide. The company operates through Iron Ore, Aluminium, Copper, and Minerals Segments. The Iron Ore segment engages in the iron ore mining, and salt and gypsum production in Western Australia. The Aluminum segment is involved in bauxite mining; alumina refining; and aluminium smelting. The Copper segment engages in mining and refining of copper, gold, silver, molybdenum, and other by-products and exploration activities. The Minerals segment is involved in mining and processing of borates, titanium dioxide feedstock, and iron concentrate and pellets; diamond mining, sorting, and marketing; and development projects for battery materials, such as lithium. It also owns and operates open pit and underground mines; and refineries, smelters, processing plants and power, and shipping facilities. Rio Tinto Group was founded in 1873 and is headquartered in London, the United Kingdom.