Western Copper & Gold (NYSE:WRN) & Lithium Americas (Argentina) (NYSE:LAAC) Head to Head Comparison

Lithium Americas (Argentina) (NYSE:LAAC) and Western Copper & Gold (NYSE:WRN) are both small-cap basic materials companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, valuation, earnings, risk, profitability and dividends.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current recommendations for Lithium Americas (Argentina) and Western Copper & Gold, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Lithium Americas (Argentina)	0	4	3	1	2.63
Western Copper & Gold	0	0	1	1	3.50

Lithium Americas (Argentina) currently has a consensus price target of $7.05, indicating a potential upside of 112.35%. Western Copper & Gold has a consensus price target of $4.25, indicating a potential upside of 281.17%. Given Western Copper & Gold’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Western Copper & Gold is more favorable than Lithium Americas (Argentina).

Profitability

This table compares Lithium Americas (Argentina) and Western Copper & Gold’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Lithium Americas (Argentina)	N/A	-1.37%	-1.08%
Western Copper & Gold	N/A	-3.53%	-3.45%

Institutional and Insider Ownership

49.2% of Lithium Americas (Argentina) shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 22.0% of Western Copper & Gold shares are owned by institutional investors. 19.8% of Lithium Americas (Argentina) shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 4.6% of Western Copper & Gold shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Volatility & Risk

Lithium Americas (Argentina) has a beta of 1.33, suggesting that its stock price is 33% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Western Copper & Gold has a beta of 1.85, suggesting that its stock price is 85% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Lithium Americas (Argentina) and Western Copper & Gold”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Lithium Americas (Argentina)	N/A	N/A	$1.29 billion	$7.79	0.43
Western Copper & Gold	N/A	N/A	-$2.47 million	($0.02)	-55.75

Western Copper & Gold is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Lithium Americas (Argentina), indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

Lithium Americas (Argentina) beats Western Copper & Gold on 8 of the 11 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Lithium Americas (Argentina)

Lithium Americas (Argentina) Corp. operates as a resource company. The company explores for lithium deposits. The company owns interests in the Cauchari-Olaroz project located in Jujuy province of Argentina. It also has a pipeline of development and exploration stage projects, including the Pastos Grandes project and the Sal de la Puna project located in Salta Province in northwestern Argentina. Lithium Americas (Argentina) Corp. is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada.

About Western Copper & Gold

Western Copper and Gold Corporation, an exploration stage company, engages in the exploration and development of mineral properties in Canada. The company explores for gold, copper, silver, and molybdenum deposits. Its principal property is the Casino mineral property that comprise 1,136 full and partial quartz claims, and 55 placer claims located in Yukon, Canada. The company was formerly known as Western Copper Corporation and changed its name to Western Copper and Gold Corporation in October 2011. Western Copper and Gold Corporation was incorporated in 2006 and is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada.