Head to Head Contrast: Lithium Americas (Argentina) (NYSE:LAAC) & Dakota Gold (NYSE:DC)

Lithium Americas (Argentina) (NYSE:LAAC) and Dakota Gold (NYSE:DC) are both small-cap basic materials companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, institutional ownership, earnings, risk, valuation, analyst recommendations and dividends.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Lithium Americas (Argentina) and Dakota Gold”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Lithium Americas (Argentina)	N/A	N/A	$1.29 billion	$7.84	0.41
Dakota Gold	N/A	N/A	-$36.45 million	($0.41)	-6.12

Dakota Gold is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Lithium Americas (Argentina), indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

49.2% of Lithium Americas (Argentina) shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 37.4% of Dakota Gold shares are owned by institutional investors. 19.8% of Lithium Americas (Argentina) shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 26.0% of Dakota Gold shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings and recommmendations for Lithium Americas (Argentina) and Dakota Gold, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Lithium Americas (Argentina)	0	4	3	1	2.63
Dakota Gold	0	0	1	0	3.00

Lithium Americas (Argentina) presently has a consensus target price of $7.05, suggesting a potential upside of 116.92%. Dakota Gold has a consensus target price of $6.00, suggesting a potential upside of 139.04%. Given Dakota Gold’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Dakota Gold is more favorable than Lithium Americas (Argentina).

Profitability

This table compares Lithium Americas (Argentina) and Dakota Gold’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Lithium Americas (Argentina)	N/A	-0.25%	-0.20%
Dakota Gold	N/A	-36.15%	-34.58%

Volatility & Risk

Lithium Americas (Argentina) has a beta of 1.33, meaning that its stock price is 33% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Dakota Gold has a beta of 1.12, meaning that its stock price is 12% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Lithium Americas (Argentina) beats Dakota Gold on 9 of the 12 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Lithium Americas (Argentina)

Lithium Americas (Argentina) Corp. operates as a resource company. The company explores for lithium deposits. The company owns interests in the Cauchari-Olaroz project located in Jujuy province of Argentina. It also has a pipeline of development and exploration stage projects, including the Pastos Grandes project and the Sal de la Puna project located in Salta Province in northwestern Argentina. Lithium Americas (Argentina) Corp. is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada.

About Dakota Gold

Dakota Gold Corp. engages in the acquisition, exploration, and development of mineral properties in the United States. It primarily explores for gold deposits. The company holds 100% interest in the Blind Gold, City Creek, Tinton, West Corridor, Ragged Top, Poorman Anticline, Maitland, South Lead/ Whistler Gulch, the Barrick Option, Richmond Hill and Homestake Paleoplacer Properties located in Homestake Mining District, South Dakota. Dakota Gold Corp. was incorporated in 2017 and is based in Lead, South Dakota.