Ero Copper (ERO) Competitors

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) and Ero Copper (NYSE:ERO) are both basic materials companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, earnings, institutional ownership, profitability, dividends, media sentiment, valuation and risk.

Which has more risk and volatility, FCX or ERO?

Freeport-McMoRan has a beta of 1.63, indicating that its stock price is 63% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Ero Copper has a beta of 1.16, indicating that its stock price is 16% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Which has better valuation and earnings, FCX or ERO?

Freeport-McMoRan has higher revenue and earnings than Ero Copper. Ero Copper is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Freeport-McMoRan, 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
Freeport-McMoRan	$25.82B	2.46	$1.89B	$1.32	33.49
Ero Copper	$535.97M	2.80	-$68.47M	$1.37	10.58

Do analysts recommend FCX or ERO?

Freeport-McMoRan presently has a consensus target price of $51.00, indicating a potential upside of 15.37%. Ero Copper has a consensus target price of $23.50, indicating a potential upside of 62.07%. Given Ero Copper's stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Ero Copper is more favorable than Freeport-McMoRan.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Freeport-McMoRan	0 Sell rating(s)	8 Hold rating(s)	8 Buy rating(s)	2 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.67
Ero Copper	0 Sell rating(s)	3 Hold rating(s)	7 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.82

Is FCX or ERO more profitable?

Ero Copper has a net margin of 26.63% compared to Freeport-McMoRan's net margin of 7.45%. Ero Copper's return on equity of 17.96% beat Freeport-McMoRan's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Freeport-McMoRan	7.45%	7.37%	3.87%
Ero Copper	26.63%	17.96%	8.06%

Does the media favor FCX or ERO?

In the previous week, Freeport-McMoRan had 24 more articles in the media than Ero Copper. MarketBeat recorded 30 mentions for Freeport-McMoRan and 6 mentions for Ero Copper. Freeport-McMoRan's average media sentiment score of 1.42 beat Ero Copper's score of 0.94 indicating that Freeport-McMoRan is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Freeport-McMoRan	25 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	2 Neutral mention(s)	1 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Ero Copper	4 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	1 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Do institutionals and insiders believe in FCX or ERO?

80.8% of Freeport-McMoRan shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 71.3% of Ero Copper shares are held by institutional investors. 0.8% of Freeport-McMoRan shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Freeport-McMoRan beats Ero Copper on 10 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.