Comparing B2Gold (NYSE:BTG) and Austin Gold (NYSE:AUST)

Austin Gold (NYSE:AUST) and B2Gold (NYSE:BTG) are both basic materials companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, dividends, valuation, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, risk and profitability.

Risk and Volatility

Austin Gold has a beta of 0.68, indicating that its share price is 32% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, B2Gold has a beta of 1.08, indicating that its share price is 8% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Austin Gold and B2Gold’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Austin Gold	N/A	-37.85%	-36.54%
B2Gold	-38.42%	7.53%	5.56%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current recommendations for Austin Gold and B2Gold, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Austin Gold	0	0	0	0	0.00
B2Gold	0	5	1	0	2.17

B2Gold has a consensus price target of $4.12, suggesting a potential upside of 52.47%. Given B2Gold’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe B2Gold is more favorable than Austin Gold.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Austin Gold and B2Gold”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Austin Gold	N/A	N/A	-$4.00 million	($0.31)	-5.30
B2Gold	$1.93 billion	1.83	$10.10 million	($0.56)	-4.82

B2Gold has higher revenue and earnings than Austin Gold. Austin Gold is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than B2Gold, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

62.1% of Austin Gold shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 61.4% of B2Gold shares are held by institutional investors. 70.7% of Austin Gold shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 1.2% of B2Gold shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

B2Gold beats Austin Gold on 9 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Austin Gold

Austin Gold Corp., a gold exploration company, focuses on the acquisition, exploration, and evaluation of mineral property interests in Nevada. The company holds interest in Kelly Creek Project located in the Kelly Creek Basin, in southeastern Humboldt County, Nevada; Fourmile Basin Project that comprises various unpatented lode mining claims covering approximately 6410 acres located in Nye County; the Lone Mountain Project consisting of various unpatented lode mining and patented mining claims located near Lone Mountain in Elko County. It also holds interest in the Miller Project consisting various unpatented lode mining claims located in Elko County in Nevada. Austin Gold Corp. was incorporated in 2020 and is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada.

About B2Gold

B2Gold Corp. operates as a gold producer company. It operates the Fekola Mine in Mali, the Masbate Mine in the Philippines, and the Otjikoto Mine in Namibia. The company also has an 100% interest in the Gramalote gold project in Colombia; 24% interest in the Calibre Mining Corp.; and approximately 19% interest in BeMetals Corp. In addition, it has a portfolio of other evaluation and exploration assets in Mali and Finland. The company was incorporated in 2006 and is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada.