Contrasting Westwater Resources (NASDAQ:WWR) & Metals Acquisition (NYSE:MTAL)

Westwater Resources (NASDAQ:WWR) and Metals Acquisition (NYSE:MTAL) are both small-cap basic materials companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, dividends, valuation, profitability, institutional ownership, risk and analyst recommendations.

Profitability

This table compares Westwater Resources and Metals Acquisition’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Westwater Resources	N/A	-5.89%	-5.50%
Metals Acquisition	N/A	N/A	N/A

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Westwater Resources and Metals Acquisition”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Westwater Resources	N/A	N/A	-$7.75 million	($0.13)	-4.12
Metals Acquisition	$322.58 million	2.66	-$144.55 million	N/A	N/A

Westwater Resources has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Metals Acquisition.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and target prices for Westwater Resources and Metals Acquisition, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Westwater Resources	0	0	0	0	0.00
Metals Acquisition	0	1	2	0	2.67

Metals Acquisition has a consensus target price of $15.00, indicating a potential upside of 29.42%. Given Metals Acquisition’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Metals Acquisition is more favorable than Westwater Resources.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

7.7% of Westwater Resources shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 87.5% of Metals Acquisition shares are owned by institutional investors. 2.4% of Westwater Resources shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.8% of Metals Acquisition shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Risk & Volatility

Westwater Resources has a beta of 1.58, indicating that its stock price is 58% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Metals Acquisition has a beta of 0.07, indicating that its stock price is 93% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Metals Acquisition beats Westwater Resources on 7 of the 10 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Westwater Resources

Westwater Resources, Inc. operates as an energy technology company, focuses on developing battery-grade natural graphite materials. The company holds interests in Kellyton Graphite Plant located in Kellyton, Alabama; and Bama Mine Project situated in south Alabama. It holds interests in Coosa graphite project located in Coosa County, Alabama. The company was formerly known as Uranium Resources, Inc. and changed its name to Westwater Resources, Inc. in August 2017. Westwater Resources, Inc. was incorporated in 1977 and is headquartered in Centennial, Colorado.

About Metals Acquisition

Metals Acquisition Limited focuses on mining and production of copper and silver. It operates the CSA copper mine in Cobar, Australia. The company was incorporated in 2022 and is headquartered in Saint Helier, Jersey.