Select Sands (OTCMKTS:SLSDF) vs. HudBay Minerals (NYSE:HBM) Critical Analysis

HudBay Minerals (NYSE:HBM) and Select Sands (OTCMKTS:SLSDF) are both basic materials companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, valuation, profitability, earnings, dividends, analyst recommendations and institutional ownership.

Risk and Volatility

HudBay Minerals has a beta of 1.33, meaning that its share price is 33% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Select Sands has a beta of 1.06, meaning that its share price is 6% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

57.8% of HudBay Minerals shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.3% of HudBay Minerals shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares HudBay Minerals and Select Sands”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
HudBay Minerals	$2.21 billion	5.08	$568.50 million	$1.43	19.81
Select Sands	N/A	N/A	N/A	($0.04)	N/A

HudBay Minerals has higher revenue and earnings than Select Sands. Select Sands is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than HudBay Minerals, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and target prices for HudBay Minerals and Select Sands, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
HudBay Minerals	0	2	12	2	3.00
Select Sands	0	0	0	0	0.00

HudBay Minerals presently has a consensus target price of $26.00, indicating a potential downside of 8.20%. Given Select Sands’ higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Select Sands is more favorable than HudBay Minerals.

Profitability

This table compares HudBay Minerals and Select Sands’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
HudBay Minerals	25.71%	8.91%	4.56%
Select Sands	N/A	N/A	N/A

Summary

HudBay Minerals beats Select Sands on 11 of the 12 factors compared between the two stocks.

About HudBay Minerals

Hudbay Minerals Inc., a diversified mining company, focuses on the exploration, development, operation, and optimization of properties in North and South America. It produces copper concentrates containing gold, silver, and molybdenum; gold concentrates containing zinc; zinc concentrates; molybdenum concentrates; and silver/gold doré. The company's flagship project is the 100% owned Constancia mine located in the Province of Chumbivilcas in southern Peru. Hudbay Minerals Inc. was founded in 1927 and is based in Toronto, Canada.

About Select Sands

Select Sands Corp., together with its subsidiaries, engages in quarrying and producing silica sand. The company holds interest in the Sandtown project located in northeast Arkansas, the United States. It sells its products to industrial and energy customers. The company was formerly known as La Ronge Gold Corp. and changed its name to Select Sands Corp. in November 2014. Select Sands Corp. was incorporated in 2006 and is based in Houston, Texas.