Reviewing Lifezone Metals (NYSE:LZM) & SunCoke Energy (NYSE:SXC)

SunCoke Energy (NYSE:SXC) and Lifezone Metals (NYSE:LZM) are both small-cap materials companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, institutional ownership, profitability, earnings, analyst recommendations, valuation and risk.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

90.4% of SunCoke Energy shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.7% of SunCoke Energy shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings and recommmendations for SunCoke Energy and Lifezone Metals, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
SunCoke Energy	0	2	0	0	2.00
Lifezone Metals	1	1	1	0	2.00

SunCoke Energy presently has a consensus price target of $11.00, suggesting a potential upside of 2.66%. Lifezone Metals has a consensus price target of $7.00, suggesting a potential upside of 60.92%. Given Lifezone Metals’ higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Lifezone Metals is more favorable than SunCoke Energy.

Risk and Volatility

SunCoke Energy has a beta of 0.94, suggesting that its stock price is 6% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Lifezone Metals has a beta of 1.34, suggesting that its stock price is 34% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares SunCoke Energy and Lifezone Metals”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
SunCoke Energy	$1.90 billion	0.48	-$44.20 million	($0.65)	-16.48
Lifezone Metals	$1.06 million	345.54	-$13.63 million	($4.67)	-0.93

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

Profitability

This table compares SunCoke Energy and Lifezone Metals’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
SunCoke Energy	-2.91%	5.68%	2.01%
Lifezone Metals	N/A	N/A	N/A

Summary

Lifezone Metals beats SunCoke Energy on 7 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About SunCoke Energy

SunCoke Energy, Inc. produces coke, a key fuel and carbon input used in blast furnace steelmaking. Its heat-recovery cokemaking process captures heat generated during production for use in generating steam and electricity. The company also provides coal-handling and logistics services, including coal blending, transportation, and the operation of export and transloading terminals. These services support the movement of coal and other bulk materials for steelmakers and other customers. SunCoke was spun off from Sunoco in 2012.

About Lifezone Metals

Lifezone Metals Limited is a metals and mineral development company focused on producing critical minerals through lower-impact processing technologies. Its proprietary Hydromet technology is designed to process ores and concentrates without conventional smelting, with potential applications in the production of nickel, cobalt, copper and other strategically important metals. The company’s principal asset is the Kabanga Nickel Project in northwest Tanzania, which is considered one of the world’s significant undeveloped nickel deposits.