Augusta Gold (OTCMKTS:AUGG) vs. Barrick Mining (NYSE:B) Critical Analysis

Augusta Gold (OTCMKTS:AUGG) and Barrick Mining (NYSE:B) are both basic materials companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, risk, valuation, dividends, institutional ownership, profitability and analyst recommendations.

Risk & Volatility

Augusta Gold has a beta of 0.85, indicating that its share price is 15% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Barrick Mining has a beta of 0.4, indicating that its share price is 60% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and target prices for Augusta Gold and Barrick Mining, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Augusta Gold	0	0	0	0	0.00
Barrick Mining	0	3	17	2	2.95

Barrick Mining has a consensus price target of $55.25, indicating a potential upside of 12.18%. Given Barrick Mining’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Barrick Mining is more favorable than Augusta Gold.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Augusta Gold and Barrick Mining”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Augusta Gold	N/A	N/A	-$6.59 million	($0.09)	-13.51
Barrick Mining	$16.96 billion	4.87	$4.99 billion	$2.93	16.81

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

Profitability

This table compares Augusta Gold and Barrick Mining’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Augusta Gold	N/A	-34.03%	-12.24%
Barrick Mining	29.45%	12.10%	8.47%

Institutional & Insider Ownership

52.4% of Augusta Gold shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 90.8% of Barrick Mining shares are owned by institutional investors. 45.8% of Augusta Gold shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 5.2% of Barrick Mining shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Barrick Mining beats Augusta Gold on 12 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Augusta Gold

Augusta Gold Corp. engages in the acquisition and exploration of mineral properties in the United States. The company primarily explores for gold, silver, and other metals. It holds interests in the Bullfrog gold project consists of 734 unpatented lode mining claims and mill site claims, and 87 patented mining claims located in the Bullfrog Hills of Nye County, Nevada; and the Reward Gold Project comprises 123 unpatented Bureau of Land Management (BLM) placer and lode mining claims, and six patented placer mining claims covering approximately 2,333 acres located in Nye County, Nevada. The company was formerly known as Bullfrog Gold Corp. and changed its name to Augusta Gold Corp. in January 2021. Augusta Gold Corp. is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada.

About Barrick Mining

Barrick Gold Corporation is a sector-leading gold and copper producer.  Its shares trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol GOLD and on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol ABX.
 
In January 2019 Barrick merged with Randgold Resources and in July that year it combined its gold mines in Nevada, USA, with those of Newmont Corporation in a joint venture, Nevada Gold Mines, which is majority-owned and operated by Barrick. Nevada Gold Mines is the world’s largest gold mining complex.  Barrick owns and operates six Tier One gold mines:  Cortez, Carlin and Turquoise Ridge in Nevada, Loulo-Gounkoto in Mali, Kibali in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Pueblo Viejo in the Dominican Republic.
 
It has gold and copper mines and projects in 13 countries in North and South America, Africa, Papua New Guinea and Saudi Arabia. Barrick’s diversified portfolio spans the world’s most prolific gold districts and is focused on high-margin, long life assets.