Comparing Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO) and American Lithium Minerals (OTCMKTS:AMLM)

Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO) and American Lithium Minerals (OTCMKTS:AMLM) are both basic materials companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, earnings, analyst recommendations, dividends, profitability, risk and valuation.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Southern Copper and American Lithium Minerals”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Southern Copper	$11.89 billion	7.18	$3.38 billion	$4.57	23.24
American Lithium Minerals	$90,000.00	25.96	N/A	N/A	N/A

Southern Copper has higher revenue and earnings than American Lithium Minerals.

Profitability

This table compares Southern Copper and American Lithium Minerals’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Southern Copper	30.37%	38.08%	18.88%
American Lithium Minerals	N/A	N/A	N/A

Risk and Volatility

Southern Copper has a beta of 0.99, suggesting that its stock price is 1% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, American Lithium Minerals has a beta of -2.43, suggesting that its stock price is 343% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

7.9% of Southern Copper shares are held by institutional investors. 0.1% of Southern Copper shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and price targets for Southern Copper and American Lithium Minerals, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Southern Copper	3	4	0	0	1.57
American Lithium Minerals	0	0	0	0	0.00

Southern Copper currently has a consensus target price of $93.60, indicating a potential downside of 11.88%. Given Southern Copper’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities analysts clearly believe Southern Copper is more favorable than American Lithium Minerals.

Summary

Southern Copper beats American Lithium Minerals on 9 of the 10 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Southern Copper

Southern Copper Corporation engages in mining, exploring, smelting, and refining copper and other minerals in Peru, Mexico, Argentina, Ecuador, and Chile. The company is involved in the mining, milling, and flotation of copper ore to produce copper and molybdenum concentrates; smelting of copper concentrates to produce blister and anode copper; refining of anode copper to produce copper cathodes; production of molybdenum concentrate and sulfuric acid; production of refined silver, gold, and other materials; and mining and processing of zinc, copper, molybdenum, silver, gold, and lead. It operates the Toquepala and Cuajone open-pit mines, and a smelter and refinery in Peru; and La Caridad, an open-pit copper mine, as well as a copper ore concentrator, a SX-EW plant, a smelter, refinery, and a rod plant in Mexico. The company also operates Buenavista, an open-pit copper mine, as well as two copper concentrators and two operating SX-EW plants in Mexico. In addition, it operates underground mines that produce zinc, lead, copper, silver, and gold; a coal mine; and a zinc refinery. The company has interests in 156,818 hectares and 502,688 hectares of concessions in Peru and Mexico; and 168,200 hectares and 28,453 hectares of exploration concessions in Argentina and Chile. Southern Copper Corporation was incorporated in 1952 and is based in Phoenix, Arizona. Southern Copper Corporation is a subsidiary of Americas Mining Corporation.

About American Lithium Minerals

American Lithium Minerals, Inc., engages in mineral exploration for lithium and rare earth minerals in the United States. The company's properties include Stonewall Flat Lithium project that covers an area of approximately 1,250 acres on Stonewall Playa in Nevada's Lida Valley Basin; and Kingman Rare Earth project comprising two individual properties, which include Kingman Feldspar Mine and the Mineral X property. It also holds interest in Silver Peak Lithium, a claystone lithium prospect comprising 24 lode mining claims located in Esmeralda County; and West End Lithium property that comprises 24 lode mining claims located in Nye County, Nevada. The company was formerly known as Nugget Resources Inc. and changed its name to American Lithium Minerals, Inc. in March 2009. The company was incorporated in 2005 and is based in Las Vegas, Nevada..