Wheaton Precious Metals (NYSE:WPM) vs. HudBay Minerals (NYSE:HBM) Head to Head Review
by Sarita Garza · The Markets DailyWheaton Precious Metals (NYSE:WPM – Get Free Report) and HudBay Minerals (NYSE:HBM – Get Free Report) are both large-cap materials companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, profitability, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, valuation, dividends and risk.
Risk & Volatility
Wheaton Precious Metals has a beta of 0.54, suggesting that its stock price is 46% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, HudBay Minerals has a beta of 1.58, suggesting that its stock price is 58% more volatile than the S&P 500.
Institutional and Insider Ownership
70.3% of Wheaton Precious Metals shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 57.8% of HudBay Minerals shares are held by institutional investors. 0.3% of HudBay Minerals shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.
Valuation & Earnings
This table compares Wheaton Precious Metals and HudBay Minerals”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Wheaton Precious Metals | $2.31 billion | 26.32 | $1.47 billion | $4.51 | 29.74 |
| HudBay Minerals | $2.21 billion | 4.74 | $568.50 million | $1.70 | 13.87 |
Wheaton Precious Metals has higher revenue and earnings than HudBay Minerals. HudBay Minerals is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Wheaton Precious Metals, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Profitability
This table compares Wheaton Precious Metals and HudBay Minerals’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Wheaton Precious Metals | 64.66% | 21.97% | 19.83% |
| HudBay Minerals | 27.48% | 9.47% | 5.44% |
Dividends
Wheaton Precious Metals pays an annual dividend of $0.78 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.6%. HudBay Minerals pays an annual dividend of $0.03 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.1%. Wheaton Precious Metals pays out 17.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. HudBay Minerals pays out 1.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Wheaton Precious Metals has increased its dividend for 2 consecutive years. Wheaton Precious Metals is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.
Analyst Ratings
This is a breakdown of recent ratings and price targets for Wheaton Precious Metals and HudBay Minerals, as provided by MarketBeat.com.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Wheaton Precious Metals | 0 | 1 | 10 | 0 | 2.91 |
| HudBay Minerals | 0 | 2 | 10 | 0 | 2.83 |
Wheaton Precious Metals currently has a consensus price target of $172.11, suggesting a potential upside of 28.32%. HudBay Minerals has a consensus price target of $31.33, suggesting a potential upside of 32.90%. Given HudBay Minerals’ higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe HudBay Minerals is more favorable than Wheaton Precious Metals.
Summary
Wheaton Precious Metals beats HudBay Minerals on 12 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.
About Wheaton Precious Metals
Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. primarily sells precious metals in North America, Europe, and South America. It produces and sells gold, silver, palladium, and cobalt deposits. The company was formerly known as Silver Wheaton Corp. and changed its name to Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. in May 2017. Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. was founded in 2004 and is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada.
About HudBay Minerals
Hudbay Minerals Inc., a diversified mining company, focuses on the exploration, development, operation, and optimization of properties in North and South America. It produces copper concentrates containing gold, silver, and molybdenum; gold concentrates containing zinc; zinc concentrates; molybdenum concentrates; and silver/gold doré. The company's flagship project is the 100% owned Constancia mine located in the Province of Chumbivilcas in southern Peru. Hudbay Minerals Inc. was founded in 1927 and is based in Toronto, Canada.