Comparing First Majestic Silver (NYSE:AG) & Nexa Resources (NYSE:NEXA)

Nexa Resources (NYSE:NEXA) and First Majestic Silver (NYSE:AG) are both materials companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, analyst recommendations, valuation, institutional ownership, dividends, risk and profitability.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Nexa Resources and First Majestic Silver”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Nexa Resources	$3.00 billion	0.57	$132.63 million	$2.09	6.23
First Majestic Silver	$1.26 billion	7.78	$164.92 million	$0.71	27.95

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

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings and recommmendations for Nexa Resources and First Majestic Silver, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Nexa Resources	1	6	0	0	1.86
First Majestic Silver	0	3	5	1	2.78

Nexa Resources presently has a consensus price target of $14.60, suggesting a potential upside of 12.14%. First Majestic Silver has a consensus price target of $23.83, suggesting a potential upside of 20.09%. Given First Majestic Silver’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe First Majestic Silver is more favorable than Nexa Resources.

Volatility and Risk

Nexa Resources has a beta of 0.95, suggesting that its stock price is 5% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, First Majestic Silver has a beta of 1, suggesting that its stock price has a similar volatility profile to the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Nexa Resources and First Majestic Silver’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Nexa Resources	8.02%	20.25%	5.28%
First Majestic Silver	21.18%	13.36%	9.20%

Insider and Institutional Ownership

27.2% of First Majestic Silver shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.9% of First Majestic Silver shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

First Majestic Silver beats Nexa Resources on 12 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Nexa Resources

Nexa Resources S.A., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the zinc mining and smelting business worldwide. The company operates in two segments, Mining and Smelting. It produces zinc, zamac, zinc oxide, and zincal, as well as by-products, such as copper, lead, silver, gold, copper sulfate, sulfuric acid, copper cementum, silver concentrate, slag aggregates, and cadmium/sponge deposits. The company owns and operates six polymetallic mines, including three located in the Central Andes of Peru; two located in the State of Minas Gerais in Brazil; and one located in the State of Mato Grosso in Brazil. It also owns and operates three zinc smelters comprising one located in Cajamarquilla in Peru; and two located in the State of Minas Gerais in Brazil, which recovers and produces metallic zinc, zinc oxide, and by-products, such as sulfuric acid. The company also exports its products. Its products are used in civil construction, transportation, energy, agriculture, health, and consumer goods industries. The company was formerly known as VM Holding S.A. and changed its name to Nexa Resources S.A. in September 2017. The company was founded in 1956 and is based in Luxembourg, Luxembourg. Nexa Resources S.A. operates as a subsidiary of Votorantim S.A.

About First Majestic Silver

First Majestic Silver Corp. engages in the acquisition, exploration, development, and production of mineral properties with a focus on silver and gold production in North America. Its projects include the San Dimas mine covering an area of approximately 71,867 hectares located in Durango State, Mexico; the Santa Elena that covers an area of approximately 102,244 hectares located in Sonora State, México; and the La Encantada covering an area of approximately 4,076 hectares located in Coahuila State, México. The company was formerly known as First Majestic Resource Corp. and changed its name to First Majestic Silver Corp. in November 2006. First Majestic Silver Corp. was incorporated in 1979 and is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada.