Ero Copper (NYSE:ERO – Get Free Report) and Alpha Metallurgical Resources (NYSE:AMR – Get Free Report) are both mid-cap materials companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, profitability, risk, institutional ownership, dividends, valuation and earnings.
Analyst Recommendations
This is a breakdown of current ratings and price targets for Ero Copper and Alpha Metallurgical Resources, as provided by MarketBeat.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Ero Copper | 1 | 10 | 5 | 2 | 2.44 |
| Alpha Metallurgical Resources | 2 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1.71 |
Ero Copper presently has a consensus target price of $32.33, suggesting a potential downside of 8.88%. Alpha Metallurgical Resources has a consensus target price of $176.00, suggesting a potential downside of 16.09%. Given Ero Copper’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities analysts clearly believe Ero Copper is more favorable than Alpha Metallurgical Resources.
Earnings and Valuation
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Ero Copper | $785.80 million | 4.71 | $263.72 million | $2.98 | 11.91 |
| Alpha Metallurgical Resources | $2.13 billion | 1.25 | -$61.69 million | ($3.58) | -58.59 |
Ero Copper has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Alpha Metallurgical Resources. Alpha Metallurgical Resources is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Ero Copper, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Insider & Institutional Ownership
71.3% of Ero Copper shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 84.3% of Alpha Metallurgical Resources shares are owned by institutional investors. 18.2% of Alpha Metallurgical Resources shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.
Profitability
This table compares Ero Copper and Alpha Metallurgical Resources’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Ero Copper | 29.79% | 30.32% | 15.17% |
| Alpha Metallurgical Resources | -2.23% | -2.99% | -2.01% |
Risk & Volatility
Ero Copper has a beta of 1.27, indicating that its share price is 27% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Alpha Metallurgical Resources has a beta of 0.68, indicating that its share price is 32% less volatile than the S&P 500.
Summary
Ero Copper beats Alpha Metallurgical Resources on 12 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.
About Ero Copper
Ero Copper Corp. engages in the exploration, development, and production of mining projects in Brazil. The company is involved in the production and sale of copper concentrate from the Caraíba operations located in the Curaçá Valley, northeastern Bahia state, Brazil, as well as gold and silver by-products. It also holds 100% interests in the Tucumã project, a copper development project located within southeastern Pará state; and the Xavantina Operations located in Mato Grosso state. Ero Copper Corp. was incorporated in 2016 and is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada.
About Alpha Metallurgical Resources
Alpha Metallurgical Resources, Inc., a mining company, produces, processes, and sells met and thermal coal in Virginia and West Virginia. The company offers metallurgical coal products. It operates twenty-two active mines and nine coal preparation and load-out facilities. The company was formerly known as Contura Energy, Inc. and changed its name to Alpha Metallurgical Resources, Inc. in February 2021. Alpha Metallurgical Resources, Inc. was incorporated in 2016 and is headquartered in Bristol, Tennessee.
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