Contrasting SilverCrest Metals (NYSE:SILV) and Pan American Silver (NYSE:PAAS)

SilverCrest Metals (NYSE:SILV) and Pan American Silver (NYSE:PAAS) are both basic materials companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, earnings, analyst recommendations, dividends, risk, profitability and institutional ownership.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent recommendations for SilverCrest Metals and Pan American Silver, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
SilverCrest Metals	0	2	1	0	2.33
Pan American Silver	0	1	4	0	2.80

SilverCrest Metals currently has a consensus price target of $10.13, suggesting a potential upside of 1.96%. Pan American Silver has a consensus price target of $25.42, suggesting a potential upside of 18.94%. Given Pan American Silver’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Pan American Silver is more favorable than SilverCrest Metals.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares SilverCrest Metals and Pan American Silver”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
SilverCrest Metals	$278.08 million	5.32	$116.72 million	$0.57	17.42
Pan American Silver	$2.67 billion	2.90	-$103.70 million	($0.17)	-125.71

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

Profitability

This table compares SilverCrest Metals and Pan American Silver’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%
Pan American Silver	-2.37%	3.07%	2.01%

Risk & Volatility

SilverCrest Metals has a beta of 1.2, meaning that its share price is 20% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Pan American Silver has a beta of 1.27, meaning that its share price is 27% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

44.8% of SilverCrest Metals shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 55.4% of Pan American Silver shares are owned by institutional investors. 4.1% of SilverCrest Metals shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 12.9% of Pan American Silver shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

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 Pan American Silver

Pan American Silver Corp. engages in the exploration, mine development, extraction, processing, refining, and reclamation of silver, gold, zinc, lead, and copper mines in Canada, Mexico, Peru, Bolivia, Argentina, Chile, and Brazil. The company was formerly known as Pan American Minerals Corp. and changed its name to Pan American Silver Corp. in April 1995. Pan American Silver Corp. was incorporated in 1979 and is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada.