Energy Fuels (NYSE:UUUU) versus Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC) Critical Contrast

Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC) and Energy Fuels (NYSE:UUUU) are both construction companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, earnings, analyst recommendations, valuation, dividends, risk and profitability.

Profitability

This table compares Vulcan Materials and Energy Fuels’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Vulcan Materials	11.43%	11.88%	6.38%
Energy Fuels	-90.40%	-9.16%	-8.67%

Insider and Institutional Ownership

90.4% of Vulcan Materials shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 48.2% of Energy Fuels shares are held by institutional investors. 0.6% of Vulcan Materials shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.9% of Energy Fuels shares are held 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 recent ratings and recommmendations for Vulcan Materials and Energy Fuels, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Vulcan Materials	0	4	9	0	2.69
Energy Fuels	0	2	2	0	2.50

Vulcan Materials presently has a consensus target price of $284.33, indicating a potential upside of 8.06%. Energy Fuels has a consensus target price of $8.50, indicating a potential upside of 60.38%. Given Energy Fuels’ higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Energy Fuels is more favorable than Vulcan Materials.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Vulcan Materials and Energy Fuels”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Vulcan Materials	$7.40 billion	4.70	$933.20 million	$6.34	41.50
Energy Fuels	$38.66 million	26.96	$99.86 million	($0.22)	-24.09

Vulcan Materials has higher revenue and earnings than Energy Fuels. Energy Fuels is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Vulcan Materials, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Volatility & Risk

Vulcan Materials has a beta of 0.81, suggesting that its stock price is 19% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Energy Fuels has a beta of 1.64, suggesting that its stock price is 64% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Vulcan Materials beats Energy Fuels on 10 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Vulcan Materials

Vulcan Materials Company, together with its subsidiaries, produces and supplies construction aggregates primarily in the United States. It operates through four segments: Aggregates, Asphalt, Concrete, and Calcium. The company provides crushed stones, sand and gravel, sand, and other aggregates; and related products and services that are applied in construction and maintenance of highways, streets, and other public works, as well as in the construction of housing and commercial, industrial, and other nonresidential facilities. It also offers asphalt mix and asphalt construction paving services; ready-mixed concrete; and calcium products for the animal feed, plastics, and water treatment industries. The company was formerly known as Virginia Holdco, Inc. and changed its name to Vulcan Materials Company. Vulcan Materials Company was founded in 1909 and is headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama.

About Energy Fuels

Energy Fuels Inc., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the extraction, recovery, recycling, exploration, permitting, evaluation, and sale of uranium mineral properties in the United States. The company produces and sells vanadium pentoxide, rare earth elements, and heavy mineral sands, such as ilmenite, rutile, zircon, and monazite. The company was formerly known as Volcanic Metals Exploration Inc. and changed its name to Energy Fuels Inc. in May 2006. Energy Fuels Inc. was incorporated in 1987 and is headquartered in Lakewood, Colorado.