First Majestic Silver (NYSE:AG) and Aris Mining (NYSE:ARIS) Critical Review

First Majestic Silver (NYSE:AG) and Aris Mining (NYSE:ARIS) 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, dividends, institutional ownership, earnings, risk and analyst recommendations.

Dividends

First Majestic Silver pays an annual dividend of $0.06 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.4%. Aris Mining pays an annual dividend of $0.56 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.9%. First Majestic Silver pays out 8.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Aris Mining pays out 40.6% 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.

Profitability

This table compares First Majestic Silver and Aris Mining’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
First Majestic Silver	21.18%	13.36%	9.20%
Aris Mining	22.43%	22.82%	13.55%

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current recommendations and price targets for First Majestic Silver and Aris Mining, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
First Majestic Silver	1	2	4	0	2.43
Aris Mining	1	0	3	0	2.50

First Majestic Silver presently has a consensus target price of $24.00, suggesting a potential upside of 68.30%. Given First Majestic Silver’s higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe First Majestic Silver is more favorable than Aris Mining.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares First Majestic Silver and Aris Mining”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
First Majestic Silver	$1.65 billion	4.26	$164.92 million	$0.71	20.08
Aris Mining	$475.50 million	6.25	$78.35 million	$1.38	10.43

First Majestic Silver has higher revenue and earnings than Aris Mining. Aris Mining is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than First Majestic Silver, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

27.2% of First Majestic Silver shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 39.7% of Aris Mining shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.9% of First Majestic Silver shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 37.8% of Aris Mining shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Volatility and Risk

First Majestic Silver has a beta of 0.97, indicating that its share price is 3% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Aris Mining has a beta of 0.04, indicating that its share price is 96% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Aris Mining beats First Majestic Silver on 9 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

About First Majestic Silver

First Majestic Silver Corp. engages in the acquisition, exploration, development, and production of mineral properties with a focus on silver and gold production in North America. Its projects include the San Dimas mine covering an area of approximately 71,867 hectares located in Durango State, Mexico; the Santa Elena that covers an area of approximately 102,244 hectares located in Sonora State, México; and the La Encantada covering an area of approximately 4,076 hectares located in Coahuila State, México. The company was formerly known as First Majestic Resource Corp. and changed its name to First Majestic Silver Corp. in November 2006. First Majestic Silver Corp. was incorporated in 1979 and is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada.

About Aris Mining

Aris Mining Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the acquisition, exploration, development, and operation of gold properties in Canada, Colombia, and Guyana. It also explores for silver and copper deposits. The company was formerly known as GCM Mining Corp. and changed its name to Aris Mining Corporation in September 2022. Aris Mining Corporation is based in Vancouver, Canada.