Head to Head Contrast: Triple Flag Precious Metals (NYSE:TFPM) & Materion (NYSE:MTRN)

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

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.

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%

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings and recommmendations for Triple Flag Precious Metals and Materion, as reported by MarketBeat.

	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 price target of $39.25, indicating a potential upside of 20.79%. Materion has a consensus price target of $310.00, indicating a potential upside of 21.19%. Given Materion’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Materion is more favorable than Triple Flag Precious Metals.

Volatility and Risk

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

Insider & Institutional Ownership

82.9% of Triple Flag Precious Metals shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 93.6% of Materion shares are held by institutional investors. 2.8% of Materion shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Triple Flag Precious Metals and Materion”s gross 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	17.22	$240.01 million	$1.99	16.33
Materion	$1.79 billion	2.98	$74.82 million	$4.29	59.63

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.

Summary

Materion beats Triple Flag Precious Metals on 10 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.

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.