First Majestic Silver (AG) Competitors

B2Gold (NYSE:BTG) and First Majestic Silver (NYSE:AG) are both mid-cap basic materials companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, valuation, dividends, risk, profitability, earnings and media sentiment.

Which has preferable valuation and earnings, BTG or AG?

B2Gold has higher revenue and earnings than First Majestic Silver. First Majestic Silver is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than B2Gold, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
B2Gold	$1.97B	2.30	$10.10M	-$0.47	-7.31
First Majestic Silver	$560.60M	7.33	-$101.89M	-$0.29	-29.09

Do analysts prefer BTG or AG?

B2Gold currently has a consensus price target of $4.31, suggesting a potential upside of 25.55%. First Majestic Silver has a consensus price target of $9.63, suggesting a potential upside of 14.11%. Given B2Gold's stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities analysts plainly believe B2Gold is more favorable than First Majestic Silver.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
B2Gold	1 Sell rating(s)	4 Hold rating(s)	2 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.38
First Majestic Silver	0 Sell rating(s)	4 Hold rating(s)	1 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.20

Does the media refer more to BTG or AG?

In the previous week, B2Gold had 6 more articles in the media than First Majestic Silver. MarketBeat recorded 11 mentions for B2Gold and 5 mentions for First Majestic Silver. First Majestic Silver's average media sentiment score of 1.10 beat B2Gold's score of 0.96 indicating that First Majestic Silver is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
B2Gold	1 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	2 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
First Majestic Silver	0 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	2 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Which has more volatility and risk, BTG or AG?

B2Gold has a beta of 0.45, indicating that its stock price is 55% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, First Majestic Silver has a beta of 0.82, indicating that its stock price is 18% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Is BTG or AG more profitable?

First Majestic Silver has a net margin of -12.32% compared to B2Gold's net margin of -33.12%. B2Gold's return on equity of 5.65% beat First Majestic Silver's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
B2Gold	-33.12%	5.65%	4.06%
First Majestic Silver	-12.32%	-0.14%	-0.10%

Do institutionals and insiders believe in BTG or AG?

61.4% of B2Gold shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 27.2% of First Majestic Silver shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.2% of B2Gold shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.9% of First Majestic Silver shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Is BTG or AG a better dividend stock?

B2Gold pays an annual dividend of $0.08 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.3%. First Majestic Silver pays an annual dividend of $0.02 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.2%. B2Gold pays out -17.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. First Majestic Silver pays out -6.9% 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. B2Gold is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Summary

B2Gold beats First Majestic Silver on 14 of the 19 factors compared between the two stocks.