Critical Contrast: B2Gold (NYSE:BTG) & Black Hawk Exploration (OTCMKTS:BHWX)

B2Gold (NYSE:BTG) and Black Hawk Exploration (OTCMKTS:BHWX) are both basic materials companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, profitability, valuation, institutional ownership, risk, earnings and analyst recommendations.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares B2Gold and Black Hawk Exploration”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
B2Gold	$1.93 billion	1.96	$10.10 million	($0.56)	-5.15
Black Hawk Exploration	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A

B2Gold has higher revenue and earnings than Black Hawk Exploration.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

61.4% of B2Gold shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.2% of B2Gold shares are owned by company 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.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current recommendations for B2Gold and Black Hawk Exploration, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
B2Gold	0	5	1	0	2.17
Black Hawk Exploration	0	0	0	0	0.00

B2Gold currently has a consensus target price of $4.12, suggesting a potential upside of 42.69%. Given B2Gold’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, research analysts clearly believe B2Gold is more favorable than Black Hawk Exploration.

Profitability

This table compares B2Gold and Black Hawk Exploration’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
B2Gold	-38.42%	7.53%	5.56%
Black Hawk Exploration	N/A	N/A	N/A

Summary

B2Gold beats Black Hawk Exploration on 8 of the 9 factors compared between the two stocks.

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.

About Black Hawk Exploration

Black Hawk Exploration (Black Hawk) is an exploration-stage company. The Company is engaged in the acquisition of and exploration of mining properties. It is a diversified energy and metals exploration company focused on identifying and exploring properties and developing new prospective projects globally. On December 8, 2009 the Company formed a wholly owned Nevada subsidiary, Golden Black Hawk, Inc.