Critical Comparison: Western Copper & Gold (NYSE:WRN) vs. Jaguar Mining (OTCMKTS:JAGGD)

Jaguar Mining (OTCMKTS:JAGGD) and Western Copper & Gold (NYSE:WRN) are both small-cap basic materials companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, earnings, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, valuation, profitability and risk.

Profitability

This table compares Jaguar Mining and Western Copper & Gold’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Jaguar Mining	28.17%	26.75%	17.80%
Western Copper & Gold	N/A	-3.53%	-3.45%

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Jaguar Mining and Western Copper & Gold”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Jaguar Mining	$97.23 million	1.20	-$150,000.00	$0.50	3.21
Western Copper & Gold	N/A	N/A	-$2.47 million	($0.02)	-52.00

Jaguar Mining has higher revenue and earnings than Western Copper & Gold. Western Copper & Gold is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Jaguar Mining, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

22.0% of Western Copper & Gold shares are owned by institutional investors. 4.6% of Western Copper & Gold shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Risk and Volatility

Jaguar Mining has a beta of 2.75, suggesting that its share price is 175% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Western Copper & Gold has a beta of 1.84, suggesting that its share price is 84% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and price targets for Jaguar Mining and Western Copper & Gold, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Jaguar Mining	0	0	0	0	0.00
Western Copper & Gold	0	0	3	1	3.25

Western Copper & Gold has a consensus price target of $4.25, indicating a potential upside of 308.65%. Given Western Copper & Gold’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Western Copper & Gold is more favorable than Jaguar Mining.

Summary

Jaguar Mining beats Western Copper & Gold on 8 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Jaguar Mining

Jaguar Mining, Inc. engages in the acquisition, exploration, development and operation of gold producing properties in Brazil. Its mining operations include Turmalina, Paciência and Caeté. The firm is also developing the Grurupi Project and exploring the Iron Quadrangle and Pedra Branca Project. The company was founded by Daniel R. Titcomb in 1984 and is headquartered Toronto, 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.