Reviewing Summit Materials (NYSE:SUM) and Energy Fuels (NYSE:UUUU)

Energy Fuels (NYSE:UUUU) and Summit Materials (NYSE:SUM) are both basic materials companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, institutional ownership, valuation, profitability, risk, analyst recommendations and dividends.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations for Energy Fuels and Summit Materials, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Energy Fuels	0	2	2	0	2.50
Summit Materials	0	4	9	0	2.69

Energy Fuels currently has a consensus price target of $8.67, indicating a potential upside of 29.55%. Summit Materials has a consensus price target of $47.17, indicating a potential upside of 17.04%. Given Energy Fuels’ higher possible upside, equities research analysts clearly believe Energy Fuels is more favorable than Summit Materials.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

48.2% of Energy Fuels shares are held by institutional investors. 1.9% of Energy Fuels shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.6% of Summit Materials shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Energy Fuels and Summit Materials’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Energy Fuels	-27.23%	-6.56%	-6.24%
Summit Materials	8.06%	7.00%	3.55%

Risk & Volatility

Energy Fuels has a beta of 1.61, meaning that its share price is 61% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Summit Materials has a beta of 1.17, meaning that its share price is 17% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Energy Fuels and Summit Materials”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Energy Fuels	$45.60 million	23.66	$99.86 million	($0.07)	-95.57
Summit Materials	$2.62 billion	2.70	$289.63 million	$2.14	18.83

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

Summary

Summit Materials beats Energy Fuels on 9 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

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.

About Summit Materials

Summit Materials, Inc. operates as a vertically integrated construction materials company in the United States and Canada. It operates in three segments: West, East, and Cement. The company offers aggregates, cement, ready-mix concrete, asphalt paving mixes, and concrete products, as well as plastics components. It also provides asphalt paving and related services. In addition, the company operates municipal waste, construction, and demolition debris landfills; and liquid asphalt terminals. The company serves the public infrastructure, and residential and nonresidential end markets. Summit Materials, Inc. was founded in 2009 and is headquartered in Denver, Colorado.