Financial Contrast: Hycroft Mining (NASDAQ:HYMC) and Materion (NYSE:MTRN)

Materion (NYSE:MTRN) and Hycroft Mining (NASDAQ:HYMC) are both mid-cap basic materials companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, dividends, earnings, profitability, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership and valuation.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

93.6% of Materion shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 7.4% of Hycroft Mining shares are held by institutional investors. 2.6% of Materion shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 1.3% of Hycroft Mining shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Materion and Hycroft Mining’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Materion	4.19%	12.36%	6.41%
Hycroft Mining	N/A	N/A	-27.55%

Risk and Volatility

Materion has a beta of 0.87, suggesting that its stock price is 13% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Hycroft Mining has a beta of 2.61, suggesting that its stock price is 161% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Materion and Hycroft Mining”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Materion	$1.79 billion	1.83	$74.82 million	$3.59	43.87
Hycroft Mining	N/A	N/A	-$60.90 million	($1.62)	-30.76

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

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and recommmendations for Materion and Hycroft Mining, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Materion	0	2	1	0	2.33
Hycroft Mining	1	0	0	0	1.00

Materion presently has a consensus target price of $170.00, indicating a potential upside of 7.94%. Given Materion’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities research analysts plainly believe Materion is more favorable than Hycroft Mining.

Summary

Materion beats Hycroft Mining on 12 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Materion

Materion Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, produces advanced engineered materials used in semiconductor, industrial, aerospace and defense, automotive, energy, consumer electronics, and telecom and data center in the United States, Asia, Europe, and internationally. The company operates in four segments: Performance Materials, Electronic Materials, Precision Optics, and Other. The company provides advanced engineered solutions comprising beryllium and non-beryllium containing alloy systems and custom engineered parts in strip, bulk, rod, plate, bar, tube, and other customized shapes; engineering and product development services; alloyed metals, beryllium products, and beryllium hydroxide; precision strip, rod, and wire products, as well as engineered strip metal products; and ToughMet alloys and SupremEX aluminum silicon carbide metal matrix composite formulation products. It operates the bertrandite ore mine and refinery located in Utah that provides feedstock hydroxide for its beryllium businesses and external sale. In addition, it produces advanced chemicals, microelectronics packaging, precious metal, non-precious metal, and specialty metal products, including vapor deposition targets, frame lid assemblies, clad and precious metal pre-forms, high temperature braze materials, and ultra-pure wire. Further, the company designs and produces precision thin film coatings, optical filters, and assemblies. The company sells its products directly from its facilities, as well as through company-owned service centers, outside distributors, agents, direct sales offices, and independent sales representatives. The company was formerly known as Brush Engineered Materials Inc. and changed its name to Materion Corporation in March 2011. Materion Corporation was founded in 1921 and is headquartered in Mayfield Heights, Ohio.

About Hycroft Mining

Hycroft Mining Holding Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a gold and silver development company in the United States. The company holds interests in the Hycroft mine that consists of 30 private parcels with patented claims comprising approximately 1,787 acres, and 3,247 unpatented mining claims that encompass approximately 62,298 acres located in the state of Nevada. Hycroft Mining Holding Corporation is based in Winnemucca, Nevada.