Critical Review: SilverCrest Metals (NYSE:SILV) vs. Seabridge Gold (NYSE:SA)

SilverCrest Metals (NYSE:SILV) and Seabridge Gold (NYSE:SA) are both small-cap basic materials companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, risk, valuation, dividends, profitability, earnings and institutional ownership.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current recommendations and price targets for SilverCrest Metals and Seabridge Gold, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
SilverCrest Metals	0	2	1	0	2.33
Seabridge Gold	0	0	0	0	0.00

SilverCrest Metals currently has a consensus target price of $10.13, indicating a potential upside of 10.78%. Given SilverCrest Metals’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities analysts clearly believe SilverCrest Metals is more favorable than Seabridge Gold.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

44.8% of SilverCrest Metals shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 34.8% of Seabridge Gold shares are held by institutional investors. 4.1% of SilverCrest Metals shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 12.8% of Seabridge Gold shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares SilverCrest Metals and Seabridge Gold’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
SilverCrest Metals	30.85%	23.35%	20.98%
Seabridge Gold	N/A	-3.42%	-1.95%

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares SilverCrest Metals and Seabridge Gold”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
SilverCrest Metals	$278.08 million	4.89	$116.72 million	$0.57	16.04
Seabridge Gold	N/A	N/A	-$21.68 million	($0.25)	-46.44

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

Volatility & Risk

SilverCrest Metals has a beta of 1.19, indicating that its stock price is 19% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Seabridge Gold has a beta of 1.07, indicating that its stock price is 7% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

SilverCrest Metals beats Seabridge Gold on 12 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About SilverCrest Metals

SilverCrest Metals Inc. engages in the acquiring, exploration, and development of precious metal properties in Mexico. The company primarily explores for silver and gold properties. Its focuses on principal property the Las Chispas Mine that consists of 28 concessions totaling of approximately 1,401 hectares located in Sonora, Mexico, as well as operates a portfolio of El Picacho, Cruz de Mayo, and Angel de Plata properties in Sonora Mexico. The company was incorporated in 2015 and is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada.

About Seabridge Gold

Seabridge Gold Inc., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the acquisition and exploration of gold properties in North America. The company also explores for gold, copper, silver, and molybdenum deposits. The company was formerly known as Seabridge Resources Inc. and changed its name to Seabridge Gold Inc. in June 2002. Seabridge Gold Inc. was incorporated in 1979 and is based in Toronto, Canada.