Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) vs. Energy Fuels (NYSE:UUUU) Financial Analysis

Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) and Energy Fuels (NYSE:UUUU) are both basic materials companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, valuation, profitability, risk, dividends, earnings and analyst recommendations.

Profitability

This table compares Hecla Mining and Energy Fuels’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Hecla Mining	-5.56%	-0.42%	-0.28%
Energy Fuels	-27.23%	-6.56%	-6.24%

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Hecla Mining and Energy Fuels”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Hecla Mining	$777.78 million	5.34	-$84.22 million	($0.15)	-44.20
Energy Fuels	$45.60 million	19.77	$99.86 million	($0.07)	-79.86

Energy Fuels has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Hecla Mining. Energy Fuels is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Hecla Mining, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Volatility and Risk

Hecla Mining has a beta of 2.01, suggesting that its share price is 101% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Energy Fuels has a beta of 1.61, suggesting that its share price is 61% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings and price targets for Hecla Mining and Energy Fuels, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Hecla Mining	0	2	4	1	2.86
Energy Fuels	0	2	2	0	2.50

Hecla Mining presently has a consensus target price of $7.56, suggesting a potential upside of 14.06%. Energy Fuels has a consensus target price of $8.58, suggesting a potential upside of 53.55%. Given Energy Fuels’ higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Energy Fuels is more favorable than Hecla Mining.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

63.0% of Hecla Mining shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 48.2% of Energy Fuels shares are held by institutional investors. 1.4% of Hecla Mining shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.9% of Energy Fuels shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Hecla Mining beats Energy Fuels on 10 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Hecla Mining

Hecla Mining Company, together with its subsidiaries, provides precious and base metal properties in the United States, Canada, Japan, Korea, and China. The company mines for silver, gold, lead, and zinc concentrates, as well as carbon material containing silver and gold for custom smelters, metal traders, and third-party processors; and doré containing silver and gold. It flagship project is the Greens Creek mine located on Admiralty Island in southeast Alaska. Hecla Mining Company was incorporated in 1891 and is headquartered in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho.

About Energy Fuels

Energy Fuels Inc., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the extraction, recovery, recycling, exploration, permitting, evaluation, and sale of uranium mineral properties in the United States. The company produces and sells vanadium pentoxide, rare earth elements, and heavy mineral sands, such as ilmenite, rutile, zircon, and monazite. The company was formerly known as Volcanic Metals Exploration Inc. and changed its name to Energy Fuels Inc. in May 2006. Energy Fuels Inc. was incorporated in 1987 and is headquartered in Lakewood, Colorado.