Analyzing Franco-Nevada (NYSE:FNV) & Black Hawk Exploration (OTCMKTS:BHWX)

Black Hawk Exploration (OTCMKTS:BHWX) and Franco-Nevada (NYSE:FNV) are both mining companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, valuation, profitability, risk, dividends and earnings.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent recommendations for Black Hawk Exploration and Franco-Nevada, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Black Hawk Exploration	0	0	0	0	0.00
Franco-Nevada	0	3	7	0	2.70

Franco-Nevada has a consensus target price of $145.33, suggesting a potential upside of 25.06%. Given Franco-Nevada’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Franco-Nevada is more favorable than Black Hawk Exploration.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Black Hawk Exploration and Franco-Nevada”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Black Hawk Exploration	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Franco-Nevada	$1.10 billion	20.41	-$466.40 million	($3.16)	-36.78

Black Hawk Exploration has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Franco-Nevada.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Black Hawk Exploration	N/A	N/A	N/A
Franco-Nevada	-55.28%	10.55%	10.09%

Insider and Institutional Ownership

77.1% of Franco-Nevada shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.7% of Franco-Nevada shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

Franco-Nevada beats Black Hawk Exploration on 8 of the 9 factors compared between the two stocks.

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.

About Franco-Nevada

Franco-Nevada Corporation operates as a gold-focused royalty and streaming company in South America, Central America, Mexico, the United States, Canada, and internationally. It operates through Mining and Energy segments. The company manages its portfolio with a focus on precious metals, such as gold, silver, and platinum group metals; and engages in the sale of crude oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids through a third-party marketing agent. Franco-Nevada Corporation was founded in 1986 and is headquartered in Toronto, Canada.