Comparing Avino Silver & Gold Mines (NYSE:ASM) & Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX)
by Mitch Edgeman · The Markets DailyAvino Silver & Gold Mines (NYSE:ASM – Get Free Report) and Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX – Get Free Report) are both materials companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, profitability, risk, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, dividends and earnings.
Analyst Recommendations
This is a breakdown of recent ratings and recommmendations for Avino Silver & Gold Mines and Century Aluminum, as provided by MarketBeat.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Avino Silver & Gold Mines | 0 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 2.60 |
| Century Aluminum | 1 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 2.50 |
Avino Silver & Gold Mines presently has a consensus target price of $8.92, indicating a potential upside of 71.47%. Century Aluminum has a consensus target price of $70.75, indicating a potential upside of 107.11%. Given Century Aluminum’s higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Century Aluminum is more favorable than Avino Silver & Gold Mines.
Institutional and Insider Ownership
3.1% of Avino Silver & Gold Mines shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 61.6% of Century Aluminum shares are owned by institutional investors. 4.3% of Avino Silver & Gold Mines shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 0.8% of Century Aluminum shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.
Earnings and Valuation
This table compares Avino Silver & Gold Mines and Century Aluminum”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Avino Silver & Gold Mines | $117.81 million | 7.50 | $540,000.00 | $0.26 | 20.00 |
| Century Aluminum | $2.53 billion | 1.34 | $41.80 million | $5.79 | 5.90 |
Century Aluminum has higher revenue and earnings than Avino Silver & Gold Mines. Century Aluminum is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Avino Silver & Gold Mines, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Volatility and Risk
Avino Silver & Gold Mines has a beta of 1.79, indicating that its stock price is 79% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Century Aluminum has a beta of 2.07, indicating that its stock price is 107% more volatile than the S&P 500.
Profitability
This table compares Avino Silver & Gold Mines and Century Aluminum’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Avino Silver & Gold Mines | 6.57% | 12.13% | 10.16% |
| Century Aluminum | 22.63% | 33.83% | 15.14% |
Summary
Century Aluminum beats Avino Silver & Gold Mines on 10 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.
About Avino Silver & Gold Mines
Avino Silver & Gold Mines Ltd. engages in the mining and exploration activities. It focuses on silver reserves in the Durango region of North Central Mexico. It operates through the Silver, Gold, and Copper segments. The company was founded on May 15, 1968 and is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada.
About Century Aluminum
Century Aluminum Company, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the production of standard-grade and value-added primary aluminum products in the United States and Iceland. It also owns and operates an alumina production facility in Iceland, and a carbon anode production facility in the Netherlands. The company was founded in 1995 and is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois.