Contrasting Materion (NYSE:MTRN) and Triple Flag Precious Metals (NYSE:TFPM)

Triple Flag Precious Metals (NYSE:TFPM) and Materion (NYSE:MTRN) are both mid-cap materials companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, analyst recommendations, dividends, risk, earnings, valuation and institutional ownership.

Profitability

This table compares Triple Flag Precious Metals and Materion’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Triple Flag Precious Metals	84.32%	14.09%	13.64%
Materion	4.29%	13.38%	6.98%

Risk & Volatility

Triple Flag Precious Metals has a beta of -0.15, suggesting that its stock price is 115% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Materion has a beta of 1.08, suggesting that its stock price is 8% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and target prices for Triple Flag Precious Metals and Materion, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Triple Flag Precious Metals	0	4	6	0	2.60
Materion	0	1	3	1	3.00

Triple Flag Precious Metals presently has a consensus target price of $39.25, suggesting a potential upside of 21.97%. Materion has a consensus target price of $310.00, suggesting a potential upside of 16.50%. Given Triple Flag Precious Metals’ higher probable upside, equities research analysts clearly believe Triple Flag Precious Metals is more favorable than Materion.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Triple Flag Precious Metals and Materion”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Triple Flag Precious Metals	$388.70 million	17.06	$240.01 million	$1.99	16.17
Materion	$2.10 billion	2.64	$74.82 million	$4.29	62.03

Triple Flag Precious Metals has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Materion. Triple Flag Precious Metals is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Materion, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

82.9% of Triple Flag Precious Metals shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 93.6% of Materion shares are owned by institutional investors. 2.8% of Materion shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Dividends

Triple Flag Precious Metals pays an annual dividend of $0.24 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.7%. Materion pays an annual dividend of $0.58 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.2%. Triple Flag Precious Metals pays out 12.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Materion pays out 13.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Triple Flag Precious Metals has raised its dividend for 2 consecutive years and Materion has raised its dividend for 13 consecutive years. Triple Flag Precious Metals is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

About Triple Flag Precious Metals

Triple Flag Precious Metals Corp., a precious-metals-focused streaming and royalty company, engages in acquiring and managing precious metals, streams, royalties and other mineral interests in Australia, Canada, Colombia, Cote d'Ivoire, Honduras, Mexico, Mongolia, Peru, South Africa, the United States, and internationally. The company has a portfolio of streams and royalties providing exposure to gold, silver, nickel, copper, zinc, and lead. It holds a royalty interest in the Beta Hunt mine located in Pert, Wester Australia; the Camino Rojo gold and silver mine located in Mexico; the El Mochito polymetallic mine located in north-western Honduras; and La Colorada polymetallic mine located in Mexico. Triple Flag Precious Metals Corp. was founded in 2016 and is based in Toronto, Canada.

About Materion

Materion Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, produces advanced engineered materials used in semiconductor, industrial, aerospace and defense, automotive, energy, consumer electronics, and telecom and data center in the United States, Asia, Europe, and internationally. The company operates in four segments: Performance Materials, Electronic Materials, Precision Optics, and Other. The company provides advanced engineered solutions comprising beryllium and non-beryllium containing alloy systems and custom engineered parts in strip, bulk, rod, plate, bar, tube, and other customized shapes; engineering and product development services; alloyed metals, beryllium products, and beryllium hydroxide; precision strip, rod, and wire products, as well as engineered strip metal products; and ToughMet alloys and SupremEX aluminum silicon carbide metal matrix composite formulation products. It operates the bertrandite ore mine and refinery located in Utah that provides feedstock hydroxide for its beryllium businesses and external sale. In addition, it produces advanced chemicals, microelectronics packaging, precious metal, non-precious metal, and specialty metal products, including vapor deposition targets, frame lid assemblies, clad and precious metal pre-forms, high temperature braze materials, and ultra-pure wire. Further, the company designs and produces precision thin film coatings, optical filters, and assemblies. The company sells its products directly from its facilities, as well as through company-owned service centers, outside distributors, agents, direct sales offices, and independent sales representatives. The company was formerly known as Brush Engineered Materials Inc. and changed its name to Materion Corporation in March 2011. Materion Corporation was founded in 1921 and is headquartered in Mayfield Heights, Ohio.