Head-To-Head Review: Northern Dynasty Minerals (NASDAQ:NAK) & Gold Resource (NYSE:GORO)

Gold Resource (NYSE:GORO) and Northern Dynasty Minerals (NASDAQ:NAK) are both small-cap basic materials companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, valuation, profitability, analyst recommendations, risk, dividends and earnings.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

18.4% of Gold Resource shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 10.6% of Northern Dynasty Minerals shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.3% of Gold Resource shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 2.2% of Northern Dynasty Minerals shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Volatility & Risk

Gold Resource has a beta of 0.81, indicating that its stock price is 19% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Northern Dynasty Minerals has a beta of -0.11, indicating that its stock price is 111% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Gold Resource and Northern Dynasty Minerals”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Gold Resource	$61.43 million	2.30	-$16.02 million	($0.34)	-2.57
Northern Dynasty Minerals	N/A	N/A	N/A	($0.12)	-17.00

Northern Dynasty Minerals has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Gold Resource. Northern Dynasty Minerals is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Gold Resource, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares Gold Resource and Northern Dynasty Minerals’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Gold Resource	-61.31%	-35.25%	-16.15%
Northern Dynasty Minerals	N/A	N/A	N/A

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings for Gold Resource and Northern Dynasty Minerals, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Gold Resource	0	0	1	0	3.00
Northern Dynasty Minerals	0	0	1	0	3.00

Gold Resource presently has a consensus price target of $1.50, indicating a potential upside of 71.70%. Northern Dynasty Minerals has a consensus price target of $2.50, indicating a potential upside of 22.55%. Given Gold Resource’s higher possible upside, equities research analysts plainly believe Gold Resource is more favorable than Northern Dynasty Minerals.

About Gold Resource

Gold Resource Corporation engages in the exploration, development, and production of gold and silver projects in Mexico and the United States. The company also explores for copper, lead, and zinc deposits. Its principal assets are the 100% owned Don David gold mine and Back Forty project covering approximately 1,304 hectares located in Menominee county, Michigan. The company was incorporated in 1998 and is headquartered in Denver, Colorado.

About Northern Dynasty Minerals

Northern Dynasty Minerals Ltd. engages in the exploration of mineral properties in the United States. Its principal mineral property is the Pebble Copper-Gold-Molybdenum-Silver-Rhenium project comprising 1,840 mineral claims that covers an area of approximately 274 square miles located in southwest Alaska, 17 miles from the villages of Iliamna and Newhalen, and approximately 200 miles southwest of the city of Anchorage. The company was formerly known as Northern Dynasty Explorations Ltd. and changed its name to Northern Dynasty Minerals Ltd. in October 1997. Northern Dynasty Minerals Ltd. was incorporated in 1983 and is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada.