Contrasting Platinum Group Metals (NYSE:PLG) and Northern Dynasty Minerals (NASDAQ:NAK)

Northern Dynasty Minerals (NASDAQ:NAK) and Platinum Group Metals (NYSE:PLG) are both small-cap basic materials companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, profitability, dividends, valuation, risk, earnings and institutional ownership.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and recommmendations for Northern Dynasty Minerals and Platinum Group Metals, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Northern Dynasty Minerals	0	0	1	0	3.00
Platinum Group Metals	0	0	0	0	0.00

Northern Dynasty Minerals currently has a consensus target price of $2.50, suggesting a potential downside of 0.40%. Given Northern Dynasty Minerals’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Northern Dynasty Minerals is more favorable than Platinum Group Metals.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

10.6% of Northern Dynasty Minerals shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 16.3% of Platinum Group Metals shares are held by institutional investors. 2.2% of Northern Dynasty Minerals shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 0.0% of Platinum Group Metals shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Volatility & Risk

Northern Dynasty Minerals has a beta of -0.06, meaning that its share price is 106% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Platinum Group Metals has a beta of 1.19, meaning that its share price is 19% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Northern Dynasty Minerals and Platinum Group Metals’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Northern Dynasty Minerals	N/A	N/A	N/A
Platinum Group Metals	N/A	-10.13%	-9.69%

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Northern Dynasty Minerals and Platinum Group Metals”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Northern Dynasty Minerals	N/A	N/A	N/A	($0.12)	-20.92
Platinum Group Metals	N/A	N/A	-$4.61 million	($0.04)	-86.00

Platinum Group Metals is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Northern Dynasty Minerals, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

Northern Dynasty Minerals beats Platinum Group Metals on 7 of the 10 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Northern Dynasty Minerals

Northern Dynasty Minerals Ltd. engages in the exploration of mineral properties in the United States. Its principal mineral property is the Pebble Copper-Gold-Molybdenum-Silver-Rhenium project comprising 1,840 mineral claims that covers an area of approximately 274 square miles located in southwest Alaska, 17 miles from the villages of Iliamna and Newhalen, and approximately 200 miles southwest of the city of Anchorage. The company was formerly known as Northern Dynasty Explorations Ltd. and changed its name to Northern Dynasty Minerals Ltd. in October 1997. Northern Dynasty Minerals Ltd. was incorporated in 1983 and is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada.

About Platinum Group Metals

Platinum Group Metals Ltd. engages in the exploration and development of platinum and palladium properties. It explores for palladium, platinum, gold, copper, nickel, and rhodium deposits. The company holds 50.02% interest in the Waterberg project located on the Northern Limb of the Bushveld Igneous Complex, South Africa. It also develops next-generation battery technology using platinum and palladium. Platinum Group Metals Ltd. was founded in 2000 and is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada.