Golden Minerals (NYSE:AUMN) versus Eldorado Gold (OTCMKTS:ELDXF) Critical Analysis

Golden Minerals (NYSE:AUMN) and Eldorado Gold (OTCMKTS:ELDXF) are both basic materials companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, valuation, earnings, profitability, analyst recommendations, risk and institutional ownership.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Golden Minerals and Eldorado Gold”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Golden Minerals	$300,000.00	5.40	-$9.23 million	($0.52)	-0.21
Eldorado Gold	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A

Eldorado Gold has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Golden Minerals.

Profitability

This table compares Golden Minerals and Eldorado Gold’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Golden Minerals	N/A	-1,051.75%	-57.22%
Eldorado Gold	N/A	N/A	N/A

Insider and Institutional Ownership

13.4% of Golden Minerals shares are held by institutional investors. 5.0% of Golden Minerals shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and price targets for Golden Minerals and Eldorado Gold, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Golden Minerals	0	0	1	0	3.00
Eldorado Gold	0	0	0	0	0.00

Golden Minerals currently has a consensus price target of $1.50, indicating a potential upside of 1,294.05%. Given Golden Minerals’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities research analysts clearly believe Golden Minerals is more favorable than Eldorado Gold.

Summary

Golden Minerals beats Eldorado Gold on 6 of the 8 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Golden Minerals

Golden Minerals Company, a precious metals exploration company explores for mineral properties in Argentina, Nevada, and Mexico. It explores for gold, silver, copper, zinc, lead, and other minerals. The company was formerly known as Apex Silver Mines Limited and changed its name to Golden Minerals Company in March 2009. Golden Minerals Company was founded in 1996 and is headquartered in Golden, Colorado.

About Eldorado Gold

Eldorado Gold Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the mining, exploration, development, and sale of mineral products primarily in Turkey, Canada, Greece, and Romania. The company primarily produces gold, as well as silver, lead, and zinc. It holds a 100% interest in the Kisladag and Efemcukuru gold mines located in western Turkey; 100% interest in Lamaque gold mines located in Canada; and Olympias, Stratoni, Skouries, Perama Hill, and Sapes gold mines located in Greece, as well as the 80.5% interest in Certej development projects located in Romania. The company was formerly known as Eldorado Corporation Ltd. and changed its name to Eldorado Gold Corporation in April 1996. Eldorado Gold Corporation was incorporated in 1992 and is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada.