Head-To-Head Contrast: Lundin Mining (OTC:LUNMF) & NioCorp Developments (NASDAQ:NB)

Lundin Mining (OTC:LUNMF) and NioCorp Developments (NASDAQ:NB) are both basic materials companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, earnings, valuation, profitability, risk and dividends.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Lundin Mining and NioCorp Developments”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Lundin Mining	$3.39 billion	2.22	$241.56 million	$0.36	24.08
NioCorp Developments	N/A	N/A	-$11.44 million	($0.77)	-3.21

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

Risk and Volatility

Lundin Mining has a beta of 1.46, meaning that its stock price is 46% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, NioCorp Developments has a beta of -0.36, meaning that its stock price is 136% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Lundin Mining and NioCorp Developments’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Lundin Mining	6.63%	5.02%	2.92%
NioCorp Developments	N/A	-1,273.17%	-140.97%

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings and price targets for Lundin Mining and NioCorp Developments, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Lundin Mining	0	1	0	0	2.00
NioCorp Developments	0	0	2	0	3.00

NioCorp Developments has a consensus target price of $3.63, indicating a potential upside of 46.76%. Given NioCorp Developments’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe NioCorp Developments is more favorable than Lundin Mining.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

0.1% of Lundin Mining shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 4.0% of NioCorp Developments shares are held by institutional investors. 0.4% of Lundin Mining shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 19.1% of NioCorp Developments shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

Lundin Mining beats NioCorp Developments on 8 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Lundin Mining

LUNDIN MINING CORPORATION is a rapidly growing, diversified base metals mining company with operations in Portugal, Spain, Sweden and Ireland. The Company currently has six mines in operation producing copper, nickel, lead and zinc. In addition, Lundin Mining holds a development project pipeline which includes the world class Tenke Fungurume copper cobalt project in the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Ozernoe zinc project in Russia. The Company holds an extensive exploration portfolio and interests in international mining and exploration ventures.

About NioCorp Developments

NioCorp Developments Ltd. engages in the exploration and development of mineral deposits in North America. It owns and develops the Elk Creek niobium/scandium/titanium project that owns one 226.43-acre parcel of land and associated mineral rights, and an additional 40 acres of mineral rights, as well as an optioned land package that covers an area of 1,396 acres located in Johnson County, southeast Nebraska. The company was formerly known as Quantum Rare Earth Developments Corp. and changed its name to NioCorp Developments Ltd. in March 2013. NioCorp Developments Ltd. was incorporated in 1987 and is headquartered in Centennial, Colorado.