Head-To-Head Review: Lithium Americas (Argentina) (NYSE:LAAC) vs. Dakota Gold (NYSE:DC)

Dakota Gold (NYSE:DC) and Lithium Americas (Argentina) (NYSE:LAAC) 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 valuation, earnings, dividends, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, risk and profitability.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Dakota Gold and Lithium Americas (Argentina)”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Dakota Gold	N/A	N/A	-$36.45 million	($0.41)	-5.65
Lithium Americas (Argentina)	N/A	N/A	$1.29 billion	$7.79	0.44

Dakota Gold is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Lithium Americas (Argentina), indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

37.4% of Dakota Gold shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 49.2% of Lithium Americas (Argentina) shares are held by institutional investors. 26.0% of Dakota Gold shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 19.8% of Lithium Americas (Argentina) shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings and target prices for Dakota Gold and Lithium Americas (Argentina), as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Dakota Gold	0	0	1	0	3.00
Lithium Americas (Argentina)	0	4	3	1	2.63

Dakota Gold currently has a consensus target price of $6.00, suggesting a potential upside of 159.18%. Lithium Americas (Argentina) has a consensus target price of $7.05, suggesting a potential upside of 106.14%. Given Dakota Gold’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities analysts clearly believe Dakota Gold is more favorable than Lithium Americas (Argentina).

Volatility and Risk

Dakota Gold has a beta of 1.12, suggesting that its share price is 12% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Lithium Americas (Argentina) has a beta of 1.33, suggesting that its share price is 33% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Dakota Gold and Lithium Americas (Argentina)’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Dakota Gold	N/A	-36.15%	-34.58%
Lithium Americas (Argentina)	N/A	-1.37%	-1.08%

Summary

Lithium Americas (Argentina) beats Dakota Gold on 9 of the 12 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Dakota Gold

Dakota Gold Corp. engages in the acquisition, exploration, and development of mineral properties in the United States. It primarily explores for gold deposits. The company holds 100% interest in the Blind Gold, City Creek, Tinton, West Corridor, Ragged Top, Poorman Anticline, Maitland, South Lead/ Whistler Gulch, the Barrick Option, Richmond Hill and Homestake Paleoplacer Properties located in Homestake Mining District, South Dakota. Dakota Gold Corp. was incorporated in 2017 and is based in Lead, South Dakota.

About Lithium Americas (Argentina)

Lithium Americas (Argentina) Corp. operates as a resource company. The company explores for lithium deposits. The company owns interests in the Cauchari-Olaroz project located in Jujuy province of Argentina. It also has a pipeline of development and exploration stage projects, including the Pastos Grandes project and the Sal de la Puna project located in Salta Province in northwestern Argentina. Lithium Americas (Argentina) Corp. is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada.