Lifezone Metals (NYSE:LZM) & South32 (OTCMKTS:SOUHY) Critical Analysis

South32 (OTCMKTS:SOUHY) and Lifezone Metals (NYSE:LZM) are both basic materials companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, risk, earnings, profitability, dividends, valuation and analyst recommendations.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

0.1% of South32 shares are held by institutional investors. 0.2% of South32 shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current recommendations and price targets for South32 and Lifezone Metals, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
South32	1	0	0	1	2.50
Lifezone Metals	0	0	2	0	3.00

Lifezone Metals has a consensus target price of $12.50, suggesting a potential upside of 76.06%. Given Lifezone Metals’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Lifezone Metals is more favorable than South32.

Profitability

This table compares South32 and Lifezone Metals’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
South32	N/A	N/A	N/A
Lifezone Metals	-24,521.17%	-294.91%	-237.25%

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares South32 and Lifezone Metals”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
South32	$5.48 billion	2.00	-$203.00 million	N/A	N/A
Lifezone Metals	$1.02 million	249.30	-$363.88 million	N/A	N/A

South32 has higher revenue and earnings than Lifezone Metals.

Volatility & Risk

South32 has a beta of 0.99, indicating that its stock price is 1% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Lifezone Metals has a beta of 0.3, indicating that its stock price is 70% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

South32 beats Lifezone Metals on 9 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About South32

South32 Limited operates as a diversified metals and mining company in Australia, India, China, Japan, the Middle East, Mozambique, the Netherlands, Brazil, Russia, South Africa, South Korea, the United States, and internationally. The company operates through Worsley Alumina, Brazil Alumina, Brazil Aluminium, Hillside Aluminium, Mozal Aluminium, Sierra Gorda, Cannington, Hermosa, Cerro Matoso, Illawarra Metallurgical Coal, Australia Manganese, and South Africa Manganese segments. It has a portfolio of assets producing bauxite, alumina, aluminum, copper, silver, lead, zinc, nickel, metallurgical coal, manganese, ferronickel, and other base metals. The company also exports its products. South32 Limited was incorporated in 2000 and is headquartered in Perth, Australia.

About Lifezone Metals

Lifezone Metals Limited engages in the extraction and refining of metals. It supplies lower-carbon and sulfur dioxide emission metals to the battery storage, EV, and hydrogen markets. The company’s products include nickel, copper, and cobalt. Its flagship project is the Kabanga nickel project in North-West Tanzania. The company is based in Ramsey, Isle of Man.