Rio Tinto Group (NYSE:RIO) & Searchlight Resources (OTCMKTS:CNYCF) Critical Survey

Rio Tinto Group (NYSE:RIO) and Searchlight Resources (OTCMKTS:CNYCF) are both basic materials companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, earnings, valuation, dividends, profitability, risk and analyst recommendations.

Profitability

This table compares Rio Tinto Group and Searchlight Resources’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Rio Tinto Group	N/A	N/A	N/A
Searchlight Resources	N/A	-65.63%	-63.23%

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Rio Tinto Group and Searchlight Resources”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Rio Tinto Group	$53.66 billion	1.43	$10.06 billion	$6.45	9.46
Searchlight Resources	N/A	N/A	-$1.05 million	N/A	N/A

Rio Tinto Group has higher revenue and earnings than Searchlight Resources.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

19.3% of Rio Tinto Group shares are owned by institutional investors. 10.1% of Searchlight Resources shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current recommendations for Rio Tinto Group and Searchlight Resources, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Rio Tinto Group	0	3	4	2	2.89
Searchlight Resources	0	0	0	0	0.00

Rio Tinto Group currently has a consensus price target of $73.00, suggesting a potential upside of 19.68%. Given Rio Tinto Group’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Rio Tinto Group is more favorable than Searchlight Resources.

Risk and Volatility

Rio Tinto Group has a beta of 0.6, indicating that its share price is 40% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Searchlight Resources has a beta of 2.41, indicating that its share price is 141% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Rio Tinto Group beats Searchlight Resources on 9 of the 11 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Rio Tinto Group

Rio Tinto Group engages in exploring, mining, and processing mineral resources worldwide. The company operates through Iron Ore, Aluminium, Copper, and Minerals Segments. The Iron Ore segment engages in the iron ore mining, and salt and gypsum production in Western Australia. The Aluminum segment is involved in bauxite mining; alumina refining; and aluminium smelting. The Copper segment engages in mining and refining of copper, gold, silver, molybdenum, and other by-products and exploration activities. The Minerals segment is involved in mining and processing of borates, titanium dioxide feedstock, and iron concentrate and pellets; diamond mining, sorting, and marketing; and development projects for battery materials, such as lithium. It also owns and operates open pit and underground mines; and refineries, smelters, processing plants and power, and shipping facilities. Rio Tinto Group was founded in 1873 and is headquartered in London, the United Kingdom.

About Searchlight Resources

Searchlight Resources Inc., an exploration stage company, acquires, explores for, and develops mineral properties in Canada. It explores for copper, cobalt, gold, vanadium, nickel, and uranium deposits, as well as rare earth elements. The company holds interests in the Bootleg Lake gold property located near Creighton, Saskatchewan; the Duddridge Lake property situated to the northwest of La Ronge, Saskatchewan; and the Cameron cobalt property located in the north of North Bay, Ontario. It also holds interests in the Flin Flon North project situated in Saskatchewan; the English Bay property located to the north La Ronge, Saskatchewan; the Kulyk Lake rare earth project situated to the north La Ronge, Saskatchewan; the Reef Lake nickel project located in north central Saskatchewan; and the Wapawekka Greenstone project situated to western section of Wapawekka Greenstone Belt. In addition, it has an option to acquire a 100% interest in the Robinson Creek gold project located to the west of Creighton, Saskatchewan. The company was formerly known as Canyon Copper Corp. and changed its name to Searchlight Resources Inc. in July 2018. Searchlight Resources Inc. was incorporated in 2000 and is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada.