For new and old investors, taking full advantage of the stock market and investing with confidence are common goals. Zacks Premium provides lots of different ways to do both.

Featuring daily updates of the Zacks Rank and Zacks Industry Rank, full access to the Zacks #1 Rank List, Equity Research reports, and Premium stock screens, the research service can help you become a smarter, more self-assured investor.

Zacks Premium includes access to the Zacks Style Scores as well.

What are the Zacks Style Scores?

The Zacks Style Scores is a unique set of guidelines that rates stocks based on three popular investing types, and were developed as complementary indicators for the Zacks Rank. This combination helps investors choose securities with the highest chances of beating the market over the next 30 days.

Each stock is given an alphabetic rating of A, B, C, D or F based on their value, growth, and momentum qualities. With this system, an A is better than a B, a B is better than a C, and so on, meaning the better the score, the better chance the stock will outperform.

The Style Scores are broken down into four categories:

Value Score

Value investors love finding good stocks at good prices, especially before the broader market catches on to a stock's true value. Utilizing ratios like P/E, PEG, Price/Sales, Price/Cash Flow, and many other multiples, the Value Style Score identifies the most attractive and most discounted stocks.

Growth Score

While good value is important, growth investors are more focused on a company's financial strength and health, and its future outlook. The Growth Style Score takes projected and historic earnings, sales, and cash flow into account to uncover stocks that will see long-term, sustainable growth.

Momentum Score

Momentum trading is all about taking advantage of upward or downward trends in a stock's price or earnings outlook, and these investors live by the saying "the trend is your friend." The Momentum Style Score can pinpoint good times to build a position in a stock, using factors like one-week price change and the monthly percentage change in earnings estimates.

VGM Score

If you like to use all three kinds of investing, then the VGM Score is for you. It's a combination of all Style Scores, and is an important indicator to use with the Zacks Rank. The VGM Score rates each stock on their shared weighted styles, narrowing down the companies with the most attractive value, best growth forecast, and most promising momentum.

How Style Scores Work with the Zacks Rank

A proprietary stock-rating model, the Zacks Rank utilizes the power of earnings estimate revisions, or changes to a company's earnings outlook, to help investors create a successful portfolio.

#1 (Strong Buy) stocks have produced an unmatched +25.41% average annual return since 1988, which is more than double the S&P 500's performance over the same time frame. However, the Zacks Rank examines a ton of stocks, and there can be more than 200 companies with a Strong Buy rank, and another 600 with a #2 (Buy) rank, on any given day.

This totals more than 800 top-rated stocks, and it can be overwhelming to try and pick the best stocks for you and your portfolio.

That's where the Style Scores come in.

To maximize your returns, you want to buy stocks with the highest probability of success. This means picking stocks with a Zacks Rank #1 or #2 that also have Style Scores of A or B. If you find yourself looking at stocks with a #3 (Hold) rank, make sure they have Scores of A or B as well to ensure as much upside potential as possible.

The direction of a stock's earnings estimate revisions should always be a key factor when choosing which stocks to buy, since the Scores were created to work together with the Zacks Rank.

Here's an example: a stock with a #4 (Sell) or #5 (Strong Sell) rating, even one with Style Scores of A and B, still has a downward-trending earnings outlook, and a bigger chance its share price will decrease too.

Thus, the more stocks you own with a #1 or #2 Rank and Scores of A or B, the better.

Stock to Watch: Mosaic (MOS)

Minnesota-based The Mosaic Company is a leading producer and marketer of concentrated phosphate and potash for the global agriculture industry. It was formed through the combination of the fertilizer businesses of agribusiness giant Cargill Incorporated and IMC Global Inc. Mosaic is the biggest integrated phosphate producer globally and is also among the four largest potash producers in the world.

MOS is a #2 (Buy) on the Zacks Rank, with a VGM Score of A.

Momentum investors should take note of this Basic Materials stock. MOS has a Momentum Style Score of A, and shares are up 21.1% over the past four weeks.

Two analysts revised their earnings estimate upwards in the last 60 days for fiscal 2021. The Zacks Consensus Estimate has increased $0.51 to $4.93 per share. MOS boasts an average earnings surprise of 43%.

With a solid Zacks Rank and top-tier Momentum and VGM Style Scores, MOS should be on investors' short list.

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MELBOURNE (Reuters) -Rio Tinto Group on Friday reduced its 2021 iron ore shipments forecast, as a tighter labour market in Western Australia delayed the completion of a new greenfield mine at Gudai-Darri.

"It has been another difficult quarter operationally and … we recognise the opportunity to raise our performance," said chief executive officer Jakob Stausholm.

The miner now expects 2021 Pilbara iron ore shipments at between 320 million tonnes (mt) and 325 mt, down from a previous range of 325 mt to 340 mt.

The downgrade puts Rio on course to lose its spot as the world's biggest iron ore producer to Brazilian rival Vale S.A..

"Another disappointing quarter for Rio Tinto as the company struggles to regain operational momentum," broker RBC said in a research note.

Rio said a tight global supply chain added to its difficulties, while headwinds from China's regulatory tightening could spark further volatility.

Iron ore prices have nearly halved since hitting a record peak in mid-May, with demand hurt by China's steel output curbs and a sharp slowdown in the country's property activity due to a regulatory crackdown. [IRONORE/]

Still, Rio shipped 83.4 mt of the steel-making commodity in the three months ended Sept. 30, 2% higher than the 82.1 mt shipped last year.

However, Pilbara iron ore production was 4% lower, hurt by heritage management, brownfield mine replacement tie-ins and project completion delays.

Rio's destruction of the 46,000 year-old Juukan Gorge rock shelters last year had led to a leadership overhaul of the company and a national inquiry.

Rio also delayed first production for the Oyu Tolgoi copper mine in Mongolia by three months to January 2023. Joint venture partner, Canada's Turquoise Hill Resources, on Thursday estimated additional funding required for the project had ballooned to $3.6 billion.

Delays to development of what will be one of the world's largest copper mines has antagonised the Mongolian government, which owns a 34% stake, and fuelled a funding spat between Rio and Turquoise Hill.

Rio Tinto shares were down 1% in morning trade in a slightly firmer broader market.

(Reporting by Indranil Sarkar and Sameer Manekar in Bengaluru and Melanie Burton in Melbourne; Editing by Devika Syamnath, Karishma Singh and Richard Pullin)

Not for distribution to United States newswire services or for dissemination in the United States

VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Oct. 14, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — American Lithium Corp. (“American Lithium” or the “Company”) (TSX-V:LI) (OTCQB:LIACF) (Frankfurt:5LA1) is pleased to announce that, in connection with its previously announced private placement offering of units (“Units”), it has entered into an amended agreement with Eight Capital, on behalf of a syndicate of agents including Echelon Wealth Partners Inc. and TD Securities Inc., as co-lead agents and joint bookrunners (together the “Agents”) pursuant to which the Corporation has increased the size of the private placement to up to 13,208,000 Units at an offering price of $2.65 per Unit (the “Issue Price”), for aggregate gross proceeds of up to $35,001,200 (the “Offering”), to accommodate investor demand.

Each Unit will be comprised of one common share in the capital of the Company (a “Share”) and one-half of one common share purchase warrant (each whole warrant, a “Warrant”). Each Warrant will entitle the holder thereof to purchase one Share at an exercise price of $4.00 per Share, for a period of 24 months following the closing of the Offering.

In connection with the up-size, the Agents will no longer have an over-allotment option to increase the size of the Offering beyond the current Offering size.

The gross proceeds of the Offering will be used for exploration and development of the Company’s TLC Project, Falchani Project and the Macusani Project, and for working capital and general corporate purposes.

The securities being offered have not, nor will they be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and may not be offered or sold within the United States or to, or for the account or benefit of, U.S. persons in the absence of U.S. registration or an applicable exemption from the U.S. registration requirements. This release does not constitute an offer for sale of securities in the United States.

The Offering is scheduled to close on or about November 3, 2021 and is subject to certain conditions including, but not limited to, the receipt of all necessary regulatory and other approvals including that of the TSX Venture Exchange. All securities to be issued in connection with the Offering will be subject to a statutory hold period expiring four-months-and-one-day following closing of the Offering.

About American Lithium

American Lithium, a member of the TSX Venture 50, is actively engaged in the acquisition, exploration and development of lithium projects within mining-friendly jurisdictions throughout the Americas. The Company is currently focused on enabling the shift to the new energy paradigm through the continued exploration and development of its strategically located TLC lithium claystone project in the richly mineralized Esmeralda lithium district in Nevada as well as continuing to advance its Falchani lithium and Macusani uranium development projects in southeastern Peru. Both Falchani and Macusani have been through preliminary economic assessments, exhibit strong additional exploration potential and are situated near significant infrastructure.

The TSX Venture 50 is a ranking of the top performers in each of industry sectors in the TSX Venture Exchange over the last year.

For more information, please contact the Company at info@americanlithiumcorp.com or visit our website at www.americanlithiumcorp.com for project update videos and related background information.

Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.

On behalf of the Board of Directors of American Lithium Corp.

“Simon Clarke”

CEO & Director

Tel: 604 428 6128

For further information, please contact:

American Lithium Corp.

Email: info@americanlithiumcorp.com

Website: www.americanlithiumcorp.com

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this press release.

Forward-Looking Statements

Statements in this release that are forward-looking information are subject to various risks and uncertainties concerning the specific factors disclosed here. Statements in this release that are forward-looking information, include, without limitation, closing of the Offering and use of proceeds from the Offering. Information provided in this release is necessarily summarized and may not contain all available material information. All such forward-looking information and statements are based on certain assumptions and analyses made by American Lithium management in light of their experience and perception of historical trends, current conditions and expected future developments, as well as other factors management believes are appropriate in the circumstances. These statements, however, are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking information or statements. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ from these forward-looking statements include those described under the heading “Risks Factors” in American Lithium's most recently filed Annual Information Form and MD&A. The Company does not intend, and expressly disclaims any obligation to, update or revise the forward-looking information contained in this news release, except as required by law. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking information or statements.

MELBOURNE, Australia, October 14, 2021–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Rio Tinto Chief Executive Jakob Stausholm, said: "The third quarter has demonstrated the resilience of our people in dealing with ongoing COVID-19 challenges. It has been another difficult quarter operationally and despite improving versus the prior quarter, we recognise the opportunity to raise our performance. We have consequently modestly adjusted our guidance.

"We are progressing against our four pillars and striving to make Rio Tinto even stronger, notably to become the best operator. This will ensure we continue to deliver attractive returns to shareholders, invest in sustaining and growing our portfolio, and make a broader contribution to society, particularly in relation to the drive to net-zero carbon emissions."

Q3 operational highlights and other key announcements

• We continue to prioritise the safety of our people and communities as we learn to live with COVID-19. Our all injury frequency rate (AIFR) of 0.37 has seen an increase versus the third quarter of 2020 (0.35), but an improvement against the prior quarter (0.39).

• We now expect Pilbara shipments to be 320 to 325 million tonnes (previously at the low end of 325 to 340 million tonnes) following modest delays to completion of the new greenfield mine at Gudai-Darri and the Robe Valley brownfield mine replacement project due to the tight labour market in Western Australia. Iron Ore Company of Canada (IOC) pellets and concentrate full year guidance has been reduced to 9.5 to 10.5 million tonnes (previously 10.5 to 12.0 million tonnes). Refined copper guidance has been reduced to 190 to 210 thousand tonnes (previously 210 to 250 thousand tonnes) due to an incident at the Kennecott smelter in September. We made small adjustments to bauxite and mined copper, and reintroduced guidance for titanium dioxide following resumption of operations at Richards Bay Minerals (RBM) in South Africa.

• Pilbara shipments in the third quarter were 83.4 million tonnes (100% basis), 9% higher than the prior quarter and 2% higher than the third quarter of 2020. Pilbara iron ore production of 83.3 million tonnes (100% basis) was 4% lower than the third quarter of 2020 due to heritage management, brownfield mine replacement tie-ins and project completion delays. This also resulted in an increase of SP10 production in the third quarter that will continue into the fourth quarter.

• Bauxite production of 14.0 million tonnes was 3% lower than the third quarter of 2020 due to equipment reliability issues and overruns on planned shutdowns at our Pacific operations.

• Aluminium production of 0.8 million tonnes was 3% lower than the third quarter of 2020, due to strike action at the Kitimat smelter. On 2 October, we reached a new Collective Labour Agreement for our British Columbia operations, which includes the Kitimat smelter and the Kemano hydropower facility. The smelter will steadily ramp up following a period of reduced production due to industrial activity.

• Mined copper production of 125.2 thousand tonnes was 3% lower than the third quarter of 2020 due to lower recoveries and throughput at Escondida as a result of the prolonged impact of COVID-19, partly offset by higher recovery and grade at Kennecott in Utah and improved performance and increased mill feed at Oyu Tolgoi.

• On 22 July, we announced the approval of a $108 million investment to investigate the feasibility of an underground mine below the existing open pit at Kennecott. Infrastructure from previous underground projects will be extended to access the North Rim Skarn orebody, allowing for the development of crosscuts and further drilling of the resource. Potential underground mining would occur concurrently with open pit operations and result in increased copper output.

• Titanium dioxide slag production of 209 thousand tonnes was 29% lower than the third quarter of 2020. On 24 August, RBM in South Africa resumed operations following stabilisation of the security situation, supported by the national and provincial government, as well as substantive engagement with host communities and their traditional authorities.

• Production of pellets and concentrate at IOC was 8% lower than the third quarter of 2020 due to labour and equipment availability issues impacting product feed. The annual planned concentrator shutdown was completed in September.

• At the Oyu Tolgoi underground project in Mongolia, as a result of COVID-19 impacts and outstanding non-technical undercut criteria, first sustainable production will be no earlier than January 2023 (previously October 2022), subject to the timing of commencement of the undercut. The full impact on the cost of the integrated project is subject to further analysis once we have clarity on the timeline around the completion of the undercut criteria and ongoing COVID-19 restrictions.

• On 27 July, we committed funding of $2.4 billion to the Jadar lithium-borates project in Serbia, subject to receiving all relevant approvals, permits and licences and ongoing engagement with local communities, the Government of Serbia and civil society.

• On 16 September, we made a statement regarding the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) issuing Rio Tinto Limited with penalty assessments in respect of the amended assessments issued on 2 March 2021 related to the denial of interest deductions on an isolated borrowing used to pay an intragroup dividend in 2015. We are confident of our position and have disputed the primary tax and penalty assessments. In accordance with the usual practice, we have paid 50% of the primary tax up-front as part of the objections process.

• In the third quarter, we entered into three partnerships to progress our work to decarbonise our value chain. These include one with Komatsu to fast-track the development and implementation of zero-emission mining haulage solutions, one with Sumitomo Corporation to study the construction of a hydrogen pilot plant at our Yarwun alumina refinery in Gladstone, Queensland, and one with Caterpillar for the development of zero-emissions autonomous haul trucks for use at one of our Western Australian mining operations.

The full third quarter production results are available here

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211014006120/en/

Contacts

Please direct all enquiries to media.enquiries@riotinto.com

Media Relations, UK

Illtud Harri
M +44 7920 503 600

David Outhwaite
M +44 7787 597 493

Media Relations, Americas

Matthew Klar
T +1 514 608 4429

Media Relations, Australia

Jonathan Rose
M +61 447 028 913

Matt Chambers
M +61 433 525 739

Jesse Riseborough
M +61 436 653 412

Investor Relations, UK

Menno Sanderse
M: +44 7825 195 178

David Ovington
M +44 7920 010 978

Clare Peever
M +44 7788 967 877

Investor Relations, Australia

Natalie Worley
M +61 409 210 462

Amar Jambaa
M +61 472 865 948

Rio Tinto plc

6 St James’s Square
London SW1Y 4AD
United Kingdom

T +44 20 7781 2000
Registered in England
No. 719885

Rio Tinto Limited

Level 7, 360 Collins Street
Melbourne 3000
Australia

T +61 3 9283 3333
Registered in Australia
ABN 96 004 458 404

riotinto.com

This announcement is authorised for release to the market by Steve Allen, Rio Tinto’s Group Company Secretary.

LEI: 213800YOEO5OQ72G2R82
Classification: 3.1 Additional regulated information required to be disclosed under the laws of a Member State

Category: General

The WisdomTree Global exU.S. Quality Dividend Growth ETF (DNL) was launched on 06/16/2006, and is a smart beta exchange traded fund designed to offer broad exposure to the World ETFs category of the market.

What Are Smart Beta ETFs?

Products that are based on market cap weighted indexes, which are strategies designed to reflect a specific market segment or the market as a whole, have traditionally dominated the ETF industry.

Investors who believe in market efficiency should consider market cap indexes, as they replicate market returns in a low-cost, convenient, and transparent way.

If you're the kind of investor who would rather try and beat the market through good stock selection, then smart beta funds are your best choice; this fund class is known for tracking non-cap weighted strategies.

Based on specific fundamental characteristics, or a combination of such, these indexes attempt to pick stocks that have a better chance of risk-return performance.

Even though this space provides many choices to investors–think one of the simplest methodologies like equal-weighting and more complicated ones like fundamental and volatility/momentum based weighting–not all have been able to deliver first-rate results.

Fund Sponsor & Index

Managed by Wisdomtree, DNL has amassed assets over $417.98 million, making it one of the larger ETFs in the World ETFs. DNL seeks to match the performance of the WisdomTree Global ex-U.S. Quality Dividend Growth Index before fees and expenses.

The WisdomTree Global ex-U.S. Quality Dividend Growth Index is a fundamentally weighted index that measures the performance of dividend paying stocks with growth characteristics in the developed and emerging markets outside of the United States.

Cost & Other Expenses

Since cheaper funds tend to produce better results than more expensive funds, assuming all other factors remain equal, it is important for investors to pay attention to an ETF's expense ratio.

Operating expenses on an annual basis are 0.58% for DNL, making it on par with most peer products in the space.

It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 1.89%.

Sector Exposure and Top Holdings

While ETFs offer diversified exposure, which minimizes single stock risk, a deep look into a fund's holdings is a valuable exercise. And, most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis.

Looking at individual holdings, Rio Tinto Ltd (RIO) accounts for about 4.59% of total assets, followed by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd and Unilever Plc (ULVR).

The top 10 holdings account for about 36.72% of total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

So far this year, DNL has added about 7.15%, and is up roughly 17.72% in the last one year (as of 10/13/2021). During this past 52-week period, the fund has traded between $32.44 and $43.87.

DNL has a beta of 0.82 and standard deviation of 22.27% for the trailing three-year period, which makes the fund a medium risk choice in the space. With about 276 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.

Alternatives

WisdomTree Global exU.S. Quality Dividend Growth ETF is a reasonable option for investors seeking to outperform the World ETFs segment of the market. However, there are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider.

IShares Core Dividend Growth ETF (DGRO) tracks Morningstar US Dividend Growth Index and the Vanguard Dividend Appreciation ETF (VIG) tracks NASDAQ US Dividend Achievers Select Index. IShares Core Dividend Growth ETF has $20.03 billion in assets, Vanguard Dividend Appreciation ETF has $61.19 billion. DGRO has an expense ratio of 0.08% and VIG charges 0.06%.

Investors looking for cheaper and lower-risk options should consider traditional market cap weighted ETFs that aim to match the returns of the World ETFs.

Bottom Line

To learn more about this product and other ETFs, screen for products that match your investment objectives and read articles on latest developments in the ETF investing universe, please visit Zacks ETF Center.

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WisdomTree Global exU.S. Quality Dividend Growth ETF (DNL): ETF Research Reports
 
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Vanguard Dividend Appreciation ETF (VIG): ETF Research Reports
 
iShares Core Dividend Growth ETF (DGRO): ETF Research Reports
 
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MELBOURNE, Australia, October 13, 2021–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Rio Tinto is progressing an innovative new technology to deliver low-carbon steel, using sustainable biomass in place of coking coal in the steelmaking process, in a potentially cost-effective option to cut industry carbon emissions.

Over the past decade, Rio Tinto has developed a laboratory-proven process that combines the use of raw, sustainable biomass with microwave technology to convert iron ore to metallic iron during the steelmaking process. The patent-pending process, one of a number of avenues the company is pursuing to try to lower emissions in the steel value chain, is now being further tested in a small-scale pilot plant.

If this and larger-scale tests are successful, there is the potential over time for this technology to be scaled commercially to process Rio Tinto’s iron ore fines.

Rio Tinto Iron Ore Chief Executive Simon Trott said, "We are encouraged by early testing results of this new process, which could provide a cost-efficient way to produce low-carbon steel from our Pilbara iron ore.

"More than 70 per cent of Rio Tinto’s Scope 3 emissions are generated as customers process our iron ore into steel, which is critical for urbanisation and infrastructure development as the world’s economies decarbonise. So, while it’s still early days and there is a lot more research and other work to do, we are keen to explore further development of this technology."

Rio Tinto’s process uses plant matter known as lignocellulosic biomass, instead of coal, primarily as a chemical reductant. The biomass is blended with iron ore and heated by a combination of gas released by the biomass and high efficiency microwaves that can be powered by renewable energy.

Rio Tinto researchers are working with the multi-disciplinary team in the University of Nottingham’s Microwave Process Engineering Group to further develop the process.

The University’s Head of Department, Chemical and Environmental Engineering, Professor Chris Dodds, said, "It is really exciting to have the opportunity to be part of a great team working on a technology that, if developed to commercial scale, has the potential to have a global impact through decarbonising key parts of the steel production process."

The use of raw biomass in Rio Tinto’s process could also avoid the inefficiencies and associated costs of other biomass-based technologies that first convert the biomass into charcoal or biogas.

Lignocellulosic biomass includes agriculture by-products (i.e. wheat straw, corn stover, barley straw, sugar cane bagasse) and purpose-grown crops, which would be sustainable sources for the process.

Importantly, the process cannot use foods such as sugar or corn, and Rio Tinto would not use biomass sources that support logging of old-growth forests.

Simon Trott said, "We know there are complex issues related to biomass sourcing and use and there is a lot more work to do for this to be a genuinely sustainable solution for steelmaking. We will continue working with others to understand more about these concerns and the availability of sustainable biomass."

If developed further, the technology would be accompanied by a robust and independently accredited certification process for sustainable sources of biomass.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211013005391/en/

Contacts

Please direct all enquiries to media.enquiries@riotinto.com

Media Relations, UK
Illtud Harri
M +44 7920 503 600

David Outhwaite
M +44 7787 597 493

Media Relations, Americas
Matthew Klar
T +1 514 608 4429

Media Relations, Australia
Jonathan Rose
M +61 447 028 913

Matt Chambers
M +61 433 525 739

Jesse Riseborough
M +61 436 653 412

Investor Relations, UK
Menno Sanderse
M: +44 7825 195 178

David Ovington
M +44 7920 010 978

Clare Peever
M +44 7788 967 877

Investor Relations, Australia
Natalie Worley
M +61 409 210 462

Amar Jambaa
M +61 472 865 948

Rio Tinto plc
6 St James’s Square
London SW1Y 4AD
United Kingdom

T +44 20 7781 2000
Registered in England
No. 719885

Rio Tinto Limited
Level 7, 360 Collins Street
Melbourne 3000
Australia

T +61 3 9283 3333
Registered in Australia
ABN 96 004 458 404

riotinto.com

Category: General

Investors focused on the Basic Materials space have likely heard of The Mosaic (MOS), but is the stock performing well in comparison to the rest of its sector peers? By taking a look at the stock's year-to-date performance in comparison to its Basic Materials peers, we might be able to answer that question.

The Mosaic is a member of our Basic Materials group, which includes 252 different companies and currently sits at #12 in the Zacks Sector Rank. The Zacks Sector Rank considers 16 different sector groups. The average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups is measured, and the sectors are listed from best to worst.

The Zacks Rank is a proven system that emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions, highlighting a variety of stocks that are displaying the right characteristics to beat the market over the next one to three months. MOS is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Over the past 90 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for MOS's full-year earnings has moved 54.19% higher. This signals that analyst sentiment is improving and the stock's earnings outlook is more positive.

According to our latest data, MOS has moved about 80.14% on a year-to-date basis. Meanwhile, stocks in the Basic Materials group have gained about 7.06% on average. This means that The Mosaic is performing better than its sector in terms of year-to-date returns.

Looking more specifically, MOS belongs to the Fertilizers industry, which includes 7 individual stocks and currently sits at #37 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, this group has gained an average of 35.76% so far this year, meaning that MOS is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.

MOS will likely be looking to continue its solid performance, so investors interested in Basic Materials stocks should continue to pay close attention to the company.

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Zacks Investment Research

While the proven Zacks Rank places an emphasis on earnings estimates and estimate revisions to find strong stocks, we also know that investors tend to develop their own individual strategies. With this in mind, we are always looking at value, growth, and momentum trends to discover great companies.

Considering these trends, value investing is clearly one of the most preferred ways to find strong stocks in any type of market. Value investors use a variety of methods, including tried-and-true valuation metrics, to find these stocks.

On top of the Zacks Rank, investors can also look at our innovative Style Scores system to find stocks with specific traits. For example, value investors will want to focus on the "Value" category. Stocks with high Zacks Ranks and "A" grades for Value will be some of the highest-quality value stocks on the market today.

Mosaic (MOS) is a stock many investors are watching right now. MOS is currently holding a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy) and a Value grade of A. The stock is trading with a P/E ratio of 8.16, which compares to its industry's average of 12.40. Over the last 12 months, MOS's Forward P/E has been as high as 23.70 and as low as 6.80, with a median of 13.03.

We should also highlight that MOS has a P/B ratio of 1.46. The P/B ratio is used to compare a stock's market value with its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. MOS's current P/B looks attractive when compared to its industry's average P/B of 1.84. Over the past year, MOS's P/B has been as high as 1.46 and as low as 0.73, with a median of 1.15.

Value investors also love the P/S ratio, which is calculated by simply dividing a stock's price with the company's sales. This is a popular metric because sales are harder to manipulate on an income statement, so they are often considered a better performance indicator. MOS has a P/S ratio of 1.6. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 1.8.

Finally, investors will want to recognize that MOS has a P/CF ratio of 6.70. This metric takes into account a company's operating cash flow and can be used to find stocks that are undervalued based on their solid cash outlook. MOS's P/CF compares to its industry's average P/CF of 13.85. Over the past 52 weeks, MOS's P/CF has been as high as 19.85 and as low as 4.77, with a median of 6.88.

These figures are just a handful of the metrics value investors tend to look at, but they help show that Mosaic is likely being undervalued right now. Considering this, as well as the strength of its earnings outlook, MOS feels like a great value stock at the moment.

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The Mosaic Company (MOS) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
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Lithium Americas saw a positive improvement to its Relative Strength (RS) Rating on Tuesday, with an increase from 90 to 93. When looking for the best stocks to buy and watch, one factor to watch closely is relative price strength. Lithium Americas stock is now considered extended and out of a traditional buy range after clearing a 17.07 buy point in a first-stage cup without handle.

Shares of The Mosaic (MOS) have been strong performers lately, with the stock up 30.5% over the past month. The stock hit a new 52-week high of $42.17 in the previous session. The Mosaic has gained 82.2% since the start of the year compared to the 6.6% move for the Zacks Basic Materials sector and the 36.6% return for the Zacks Fertilizers industry.

What's Driving the Outperformance?

The stock has a great record of positive earnings surprises, as it hasn't missed our earnings consensus estimate in any of the last four quarters. In its last earnings report on August 2, 2021, Mosaic reported EPS of $1.17 versus consensus estimate of $1.01.

For the current fiscal year, Mosaic is expected to post earnings of $4.93 per share on $12.54 billion in revenues. This represents a 480% change in EPS on a 44.5% change in revenues. For the next fiscal year, the company is expected to earn $4.95 per share on $12.48 billion in revenues. This represents a year-over-year change of 0.43% and -0.56%, respectively.

Valuation Metrics

Mosaic may be at a 52-week high right now, but what might the future hold for the stock? A key aspect of this question is taking a look at valuation metrics in order to determine if the company has run ahead of itself.

On this front, we can look at the Zacks Style Scores, as they provide investors with an additional way to sort through stocks (beyond looking at the Zacks Rank of a security). These styles are represented by grades running from A to F in the categories of Value, Growth, and Momentum, while there is a combined VGM Score as well. Investors should consider the style scores a valuable tool that can help you to pick the most appropriate Zacks Rank stocks based on their individual investment style.

Mosaic has a Value Score of A. The stock's Growth and Momentum Scores are A and A, respectively, giving the company a VGM Score of A.

In terms of its value breakdown, the stock currently trades at 8.5X current fiscal year EPS estimates. On a trailing cash flow basis, the stock currently trades at 12.8X versus its peer group's average of 13.5X. Additionally, the stock has a PEG ratio of 1.21. This isn't enough to put the company in the top echelon of all stocks we cover from a value perspective.

Zacks Rank

We also need to consider the stock's Zacks Rank, as this supersedes any trend on the style score front. Fortunately, Mosaic currently has a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy) thanks to rising earnings estimates.

Since we recommend that investors select stocks carrying Zacks Rank of 1 (Strong Buy) or 2 (Buy) and Style Scores of A or B, it looks as if Mosaic meets the list of requirements. Thus, it seems as though Mosaic shares could still be poised for more gains ahead.

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Investors seek growth stocks to capitalize on above-average growth in financials that help these securities grab the market's attention and produce exceptional returns. But finding a great growth stock is not easy at all.

That's because, these stocks usually carry above-average risk and volatility. In fact, betting on a stock for which the growth story is actually over or nearing its end could lead to significant loss.

However, the task of finding cutting-edge growth stocks is made easy with the help of the Zacks Growth Style Score (part of the Zacks Style Scores system), which looks beyond the traditional growth attributes to analyze a company's real growth prospects.

Mosaic (MOS) is on the list of such stocks currently recommended by our proprietary system. In addition to a favorable Growth Score, it carries a top Zacks Rank.

Studies have shown that stocks with the best growth features consistently outperform the market. And returns are even better for stocks that possess the combination of a Growth Score of A or B and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) or 2 (Buy).

While there are numerous reasons why the stock of this fertilizer maker is a great growth pick right now, we have highlighted three of the most important factors below:

Earnings Growth

Arguably nothing is more important than earnings growth, as surging profit levels is what most investors are after. For growth investors, double-digit earnings growth is highly preferable, as it is often perceived as an indication of strong prospects (and stock price gains) for the company under consideration.

While the historical EPS growth rate for Mosaic is 7.5%, investors should actually focus on the projected growth. The company's EPS is expected to grow 480.5% this year, crushing the industry average, which calls for EPS growth of 178.1%.

Impressive Asset Utilization Ratio

Asset utilization ratio — also known as sales-to-total-assets (S/TA) ratio — is often overlooked by investors, but it is an important indicator in growth investing. This metric exhibits how efficiently a firm is utilizing its assets to generate sales.

Right now, Mosaic has an S/TA ratio of 0.5, which means that the company gets $0.5 in sales for each dollar in assets. Comparing this to the industry average of 0.48, it can be said that the company is more efficient.

While the level of efficiency in generating sales matters a lot, so does the sales growth of a company. And Mosaic looks attractive from a sales growth perspective as well. The company's sales are expected to grow 44.5% this year versus the industry average of 30.4%.

Promising Earnings Estimate Revisions

Beyond the metrics outlined above, investors should consider the trend in earnings estimate revisions. A positive trend is a plus here. Empirical research shows that there is a strong correlation between trends in earnings estimate revisions and near-term stock price movements.

The current-year earnings estimates for Mosaic have been revising upward. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the current year has surged 1.2% over the past month.

Bottom Line

Mosaic has not only earned a Growth Score of A based on a number of factors, including the ones discussed above, but it also carries a Zacks Rank #2 because of the positive earnings estimate revisions.

You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

This combination positions Mosaic well for outperformance, so growth investors may want to bet on it.

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Smaller lithium stocks are attracting greater investor interest as underlying companies make progress.

Shares of The Mosaic Company (NYSE: MOS) traded at a new 52-week high today of $42.22. This new high was reached on below-average trading volume as 2 million shares traded hands, while the average 30-day volume is approximately 3.8 million shares.

In the past 52 weeks, shares of The Mosaic Company have traded between a low of $16.01 and a high of $42.22 and are now at $41.68, which is 160% above that low price.

Formed in 2004 by the combination of IMC Global and Cargill’s fertilizer business, Mosaic is a leading producer of primary crop nutrients phosphate and potash. The company’s assets include phosphate rock mines in Florida, Louisiana, Brazil, and Peru, and potash mines in Saskatchewan, New Mexico, and Brazil.

The Mosaic Company is currently priced 52.8% above its average consensus analyst price target of $19.66.

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OVERLAND PARK, Kan., October 12, 2021–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Compass Minerals (NYSE: CMP), a leading global provider of essential minerals, today announced the appointment of Gareth Joyce to the company’s board of directors. Joyce brings extensive experience in the transportation sector, with a focus on electric vehicle battery technology and markets.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211012006130/en/

Gareth Joyce, newly appointed independent director for Compass Minerals (NYSE: CMP) (Photo: Business Wire)

"With Gareth’s appointment, we are pleased to add key expertise to the board in support of the company’s recently announced lithium development strategy," said Joe Reece, non-executive chairman of the board. "Gareth’s leadership in the electric vehicle battery sector, coupled with his hands-on knowledge of driving sustainable operations, will be an excellent addition to our board acumen as we maintain focus on maximizing value of our advantaged assets to benefit all stakeholders."

Joyce is currently the president of Proterra Inc, a leading commercial electric vehicle technology company. He was promoted to his current position in September 2021 after previously serving as president of Proterra’s Powered and Energy business units since November 2020. From 2016 to 2020, he served in a number of leadership roles at Delta Air Lines Inc., most recently as chief sustainability officer. Prior to his time at Delta, from 2004 to 2016, Joyce held roles of increasing responsibility at Daimler AG, including as president and CEO, Mercedes-Benz Canada, and vice president, customer service, Mercedes-Benz USA. Joyce has also served in a number of consulting and management positions in finance and other fields.

Joyce earned a Bachelor of Science in engineering at the University of the Witwatersrand and a Master of Commerce in business management at the University of Johannesburg, both in South Africa.

Joyce has been appointed to the Environmental, Health, Safety and Sustainability Committee and Nominating/Corporate Governance Committee of the board. With Joyce’s appointment, the board of directors has expanded from eight members to nine.

About Compass Minerals

Compass Minerals (NYSE: CMP) is a leading global provider of essential minerals focused on safely delivering where and when it matters to help solve nature’s challenges for customers and communities. Its salt products help keep roadways safe during winter weather and are used in numerous other consumer, industrial and agricultural applications. And its plant nutrition business manufactures products that improve the quality and yield of crops, while supporting sustainable agriculture. Additionally, its specialty chemical business serves the water treatment industry and other industrial processes. The company operates 15 production and packaging facilities with more than 2,000 employees throughout the U.S., Canada, Brazil and the U.K. Visit compassminerals.com for more information about the company and its products.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements are based on the company’s current expectations and involve risks and uncertainties that could cause the company’s actual results to differ materially. The differences could be caused by a number of factors including those factors identified in the "Risk Factors" and "Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" sections of the company’s Annual and Quarterly Reports on Forms 10-K and 10-Q, including any amendments, as well as the company’s other SEC filings. The company undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements made in this press release to reflect future events or developments, except as required by law.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211012006130/en/

Contacts

Media Contact
Rick Axthelm
Chief Public Affairs and Sustainability Officer
+1.913.344.9198
MediaRelations@compassminerals.com

Investor Contact
Douglas Kris
Senior Director of Investor Relations
+1.917.797.4967
krisd@compassminerals.com

MELBOURNE, Australia, October 11, 2021–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Rio Tinto’s vaccination hub at Perth Airport has opened today, enabling fly-in fly-out (FIFO) workers in the mining industry to easily access COVID-19 vaccination when they touch down in Perth.

Rio Tinto and Western Australia’s Department of Health partnered to establish the new hub, which will operate at Perth Airport T2 and T3 and is specifically designed to be accessible for FIFO workers from the resources sector travelling through Perth Airport.

The hubs are part of Rio Tinto’s commitment to help boost vaccination rates across the State. Rio Tinto has made the facility available to vaccinate workers in the mining FIFO community, regardless of the company they work for.

The opening of the clinic follows the WA Government’s announcement that vaccination would be mandatory for FIFO and other resources sector employees.

In addition, Rio Tinto announced that vaccination will be a requirement for its entire WA workforce, including those who work in offices and other facilities in Perth.

The Perth Airport vaccination clinics will operate on weekdays from 10am to 8pm with appointment times aligned to flight arrival times. Bookings are essential to avoid delays. Walk-in opportunities are limited based on daily vaccine availability.

In September, Rio Tinto opened vaccination clinics in Tom Price and Paraburdoo and is working with the WA Government to establish similar clinics in Pannawonica, Cape Lambert and Dampier to assist with the vaccination rollout.

Rio Tinto Iron Ore Chief Executive, Simon Trott, urged all eligible FIFO workers from across the sector returning to Perth book an appointment as soon as possible.

"We encourage workers in our sector to take advantage of the Perth Airport clinics, which are open to all FIFO workers. We know how critically important it is to boost vaccination rates in WA and are pleased to be able to welcome workers to the clinic.

"Following the WA Government’s announcement that vaccination will be mandatory for FIFO and other workers in WA’s resources sector, it’s important that workers in the sector book an appointment as soon as possible, and the Perth Airport clinic makes the process easy.

"Rio Tinto is proud to work with the WA Government to deliver these clinics and will continue to assist with boosting vaccination rates across WA."

Further information and bookings can be made via rollup.wa.gov.au.

Category: Pilbara

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211010005077/en/

Contacts

Please direct all enquiries to media.enquiries@riotinto.com

Media Relations, UK

Illtud Harri
M +44 7920 503 600

David Outhwaite
M +44 7787 597 493

Media Relations, Americas

Matthew Klar
T +1 514 608 4429

Investor Relations, UK

Menno Sanderse
M: +44 7825 195 178

David Ovington
M +44 7920 010 978

Clare Peever
M +44 7788 967 877

Media Relations, Australia

Jonathan Rose
M +61 447 028 913

Matt Chambers
M +61 433 525 739

Jesse Riseborough
M +61 436 653 412

Investor Relations, Australia

Natalie Worley
M +61 409 210 462

Amar Jambaa
M +61 472 865 948

Rio Tinto plc

6 St James’s Square
London SW1Y 4AD
United Kingdom

T +44 20 7781 2000
Registered in England
No. 719885

Rio Tinto Limited

Level 7, 360 Collins Street
Melbourne 3000
Australia

T +61 3 9283 3333
Registered in Australia
ABN 96 004 458 404

riotinto.com

Analysts expect lower trading volumes and potentially a quiet day ahead due to the Columbus Day holiday.

The U.S. stock market fell on Monday, as higher commodity prices and bond yields weighed on stocks. Overall, “the move higher in global interest rates and commodity prices continues to be the focal point,” writes Michael Reinking, senior market strategist at New York Stock Exchange.

We’re living now at the start of a great economic transition, from the fossil fuel economy to the ‘green’ economy. We’re seeing political moves to boost clean energy sources over fossil fuels, as well as to promote cleaner tech, especially vehicles. One immediate result is a wide array of companies, new and old, getting into the electric vehicle (EV) business and its auxiliaries, opening up new opportunities for investors.

One particularly strong field for such opportunities: supporting infrastructure. Developing new battery technology, recycling old batteries, expanding the EV charging network, exploring and exploiting lithium deposits – these, and more, are all areas that will need solutions as the number of electric cars on the roads continues to grow. And the companies that can successfully build in one of these niches will bring investors the returns they want.

With this in mind, we’ve used TipRanks' database to look up the latest details on three EV battery stocks. They are producing the raw materials and support structure that EVs require for success. And better yet, Wall Street’s analysts see them as mid- to long-term winners. Let's take a closer look.

Lithium Americas (LAC)

We’ll start with a mining company. Lithium Americas, a Canadian-based resource company, has two major projects for the production of battery-grade lithium carbonate. This is an essential mineral in the current rechargeable battery production, and Lithium Americas’ projects are expected to produce approximately 100,000 metric tons annually over the next four decades. The mines, Cauchari-Olaroz in northern Argentina and Thacker Pass in Nevada, are gearing up for production in the next 6 to 8 months. Thacker Pass contains the most significant recoverable lithium deposits in the US.

Lithium Americas reported, in its 2Q results, that both projects remain on track. The Cauchari-Olaroz project has 1,200 workers on site, and chemical and processing plants for recovered lithium, which are being built at the mine site, are two-thirds or more complete. This Argentinian lithium project is expected to produced 40,000 tons annually of the company’s total, starting in the middle of next year.

The Thacker Pass mine, in Nevada, is also reported to be meeting the company’s development schedule. The mine, when it begins production later this year, will make lithium a major export from Nevada, which is already known as a mining-intensive state. The Thacker Pass mine is projected to reach some 60,000 tons annually at full output.

Lithium Americas’ mines have not yet entered production, so the company has no revenue stream as yet. This makes the stock highly speculative, but with reason to be bullish: the company’s development is running on time, as is the governmental regulatory process. In addition, the company reported having $505 million in cash on hand and $156 million in undrawn credit at the end of 1H21, available for funding operations.

J.P. Morgan's Tyler Langton sees potential for Lithium Americas – in fact, the analyst initiated coverage of this stock with an Overweight (i.e. Buy) rating and a price target of $28. This figure implies ~36% one-year upside potential. (To watch Langton’s track record, click here)

Backing his stance, Langton wrote: “Demand for lithium should roughly double from 2021E through 2025E, and then double again from 2025E through 2030E. The biggest driver of this growth should be from electric vehicles (especially battery electric vehicles) continuing to gain share and larger battery sizes… LAC should see strong and steady production growth through the end of the decade, while its two projects should have attractive positions on the cost curve. LAC also has a solid balance sheet to fund this growth and significant leverage to our lithium price forecasts…”

Overall, there are 5 recent analyst reviews on file for Lithium Americas, and they include 4 Buys against a single Hold to give the stock a Strong Buy consensus rating. Shares are selling for $20.60 and the $24.43 average price target suggests the stock has room for ~19% growth in the year ahead. (See LAC stock analysis on TipRanks)

Albemarle Corporation (ALB)

Next up is Albemarle, a North Carolina-based chemical manufacturer. The company produces lithium and bromine chemical products, as well as catalysts needed in other chemical manufacturing processes. Albemarle has been in business since the 1880s, and has operations across the United States, Chile, and Western Australia, as well as in East Asia, the Middle East, and Europe. The company is the largest global provider of lithium for EV battery backs.

Some recent numbers will show Albemarle’s importance in the global chemical industry. In the last reported quarter, 2Q21, EPS hit $3.62, derived from $424.6 million in net income. This was more than 4x higher than the 80-cent EPS reported in the year ago quarter.

During the second quarter, Albemarle streamlined its operations through the sale of its Fine Chemistry Services division to W.R. Grace & Company. The sale was worth $570 million, of which $300 million was paid in cash and $270 million was issued to Albemarle as preferred equity in a W.R. Grace subsidiary. Albemarle will use the proceeds to execute its long-term growth strategy, which includes a greater focus on lithium operations. The company reported that its lithium performance expanded in the first half of this year.

In September of this year, Albemarle took a major step to increase its lithium production through the acquisition of the Chinese company Guangxi Tianyuan New Energy Materials. Guangxi Tianyuan is a lithium converter company for which Albemarle agreed to pay US$200 million. The deal is expected to close early next year.

Berenberg analyst Sebastian Bray is openly bullish on Albemarle’s prospects, writing of the company: “We expect demand for lithium, the key material used in electric vehicle batteries, to grow strongly during this decade, and pricing to remain firm. We forecast long-term contract prices for Albemarle of USD16,000 per ton, significantly ahead of Albemarle’s 2020 Aaverage contract prices of USD13,000… We expect Albemarle’s earnings to grow strongly on the back of lithium capacity additions. We estimate Albemarle’s production will increase five-fold by 2030E, quickly contracting current valuation multiples."

In line with these comments, Bray rates ALB shares a Buy, with a $280 price target that indicates a 12-month upside of 30%. (To watch Bray’s track record, click here)

Albemarle also gets decent support from Bray's colleagues; Based on 10 Buys, 4 Holds and 2 Sells, the stock has a Moderate Buy consensus rating. At $254.38, the average price target suggests upside of ~18% in the year ahead. (See ALB stock analysis on TipRanks)

ChargePoint Holdings (CHPT)

ChargePoint is one of the largest operators of EV charging station networks in the US and Europe. ChargePoint has more than 5,000 commercial and fleet customers, which include 76% of the Fortune 50 companies. In addition, ChargePoint boasts over 118,000 charging locations in its North American and European networks.

ChargePoint recent reported its Q2 fiscal 2022 results, and showed revenue of $56.1 million, up 61% year-over-year. Of that total revenue, $40.9 million came from networked charging; this was a 91% gain yoy. The company reported more than $618 million in liquid assets.

In a point of interest for investors, ChargePoint raised its full-year guidance range by 15% at the midpoint, to the $225 million to $235 million range.

Earlier this month, ChargePoint announced strategic moves in its European operations, including the acquisition of has·to·be. has·to·be is the provider of be.ENERGISED, a cloud-based e-mobility EV charging software platform. The acquisition will allow ChargePoint to further expand its position in the European EV charging ecosystem, and follows the acquisition of ViriCiti in August.

In coverage for D.A. Davidson, Matt Summerville notes two important factors in CHPT’s prospects: “(1) CHPT has a meaningful first-mover advantage in the North American public L2 EV charging market, with a portfolio of well-regarded products, 100% of which are sold with a CHPT Cloud software subscription (and an approximately 60% of which generate subscriptions from its Assure service/maintenance plan) and can be accessed via CHPT’s highly-downloaded/rated mobile app or via an EV’s infotainment system; (2) a growing presence in the rapidly-expanding European EV charging market, underpinned by its recent acquisitions of has·to·be and ViriCiti…”

To this end, Summerville rates the stock a Buy, and his $30 price target suggests it sill grow 63% over the next year. (To watch Summerville’s track record, click here)

Overall, ChargePoint’s 11 recent analyst reviews include 7 Buys, 3 Holds, and 1 Sell, giving the stock its Moderate Buy consensus rating. The average price target of $34 implies a bullish upside of ~85% from the current trading price of $18.40. (See CHPT stock analysis on TipRanks)

To find good ideas for EV stocks trading at attractive valuations, visit TipRanks’ Best Stocks to Buy, a newly launched tool that unites all of TipRanks’ equity insights.

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the featured analysts. The content is intended to be used for informational purposes only. It is very important to do your own analysis before making any investment.

Yields of up to 15pc are on offer next year as FTSE 100 dividends return to record levels, rewarding investors who make early moves to capture 2022’s top payouts.

Total payments could reach £85.1bn, just behind the £85.2bn record paid out in 2018, according to the stockbroker AJ Bell, as profits and economies rebound after the pandemic.

Analysts are predicting British blue-chip stocks will build on a strong recovery in dividends this year. Payouts from FTSE 100 companies are forecast to reach £84.1bn in 2021, a rise of 37pc from £61.4bn in 2020.

Dividends from some of the London stock market’s biggest payers this year have sent their yields soaring.

Shares in miners Rio Tinto and Evraz yield almost 18pc, based on payouts for their 2021 financial year and current share prices, according to AJ Bell. Rival BHP Group yields 11.3pc.

While dividends from miners have ballooned, investors haven’t left it too late to cash in, according to experts. More than half of Rio Tinto’s 17.8pc yield is forecast to come from a bumper final dividend expected to be paid in April. Similarly, half of Evraz’s $1.48 dividend predicted for its 2021 financial year has yet to be paid.

The FTSE 100’s trio of top dividend payers are meanwhile forecast to continue to offer high payouts next year. Analysts have estimated 2022 yields of 14.9pc for Evraz, 12.4pc for Rio Tinto and 12.2pc for BHP.

Is this too good to be true? Ian Williams, the manager of the Charteris Premium Income fund, said he did not think so. Mr Williams, who holds around a third of his portfolio in mining stocks, said he expected double-digit yield forecasts to come good, despite a slump in the iron ore price from its summer high amid waning Chinese demand.

“Even if commodity prices fall, mining companies are so profitable they can still pay high dividends,” he said.

“Rio Tinto takes iron ore out of the ground for around $20 a ton. Prices have fallen by almost half since July to $118 a ton, so even after a crash it can still afford to pay shareholders.”

Mr Williams argued that miners could continue to raise their dividends in the future as they rode a wave of higher demand for metals as governments and companies pushed to decarbonise the economy.

“You can’t have decarbonisation without metals. Electric cars use four times as much copper as their petrol equivalents – demand for the metal could rise more in the next 10 years than it has done in the past 2,000,” he said.

“Rare earth” metals will also be in demand thanks to their use in the lithium-ion batteries used to power electric cars. Mr Williams highlighted Poly­metal International, forecast to yield 9.8pc next year, as a major miner of these metals.

However, other investors warned that chasing the high yields offered by mining stocks was dangerous. Laura Foll of the fund group Janus Henderson said: “Be wary of relying solely on the yield to value shares.”

She added that Rio Tinto and BHP’s high forecast dividends depended on the prices of a narrow basket of metals.

Ms Foll highlighted shares in rival miner Anglo American, which she owns in her funds, as an alternative. Expected to yield 6.6pc next year, she argued that the stock’s dividend was more reliable as the company made money from a large basket of commodities, including copper, diamonds, iron ore and nickel.

Shares in banks also offered good dividend prospects, she said. Lenders have resumed payouts after the Bank of England scrapped restrictions imposed at the start of the pandemic, and their dividends are expected to grow. Lloyds Banking Group and ­NatWest, which Ms Foll owns, are forecast to yield 5.6pc and 4.7pc respectively next year.

Simon Gergel, manager of the £660m Merchants Trust, also cautioned on the outlook for miners’ dividends. He said payouts from Rio Tinto and BHP would fall next year should the iron ore price remain at its current level.

He recommended tobacco companies as an alternative source of dividends as their profits were more predictable. British American Tobacco and Imperial Brands are forecast to yield 8.5pc and 9.2pc next year, and the former has raised its payout in each of the past 23 years.

MELBOURNE (Reuters) – BHP Group, the world's largest listed mining company, announced on Thursday that from the end of January all workers and visitors entering its workplaces in Australia will need to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19.

Those requirements will be introduced earlier for some sites in high risk areas, such as Mt Arthur coal mine in New South Wales state, BHP said in a statement.

Australia has struggled since mid-year to contain an outbreak of the highly infectious Delta variant of COVID-19.

It is now pushing to increase vaccination rates so that cities can begin lowering their lockdowns.

“The science is clear that widespread vaccination saves lives," BHP Minerals Australia President Edgar Basto said in a statement.

"We recognise the path forward is through widespread vaccination in Australia and we are looking at a range of practical ways to support that while protecting communities and workforces," he said.

The Mining and Energy Union said that it did not support BHP’s decision to mandate vaccines and that it was working through the legal implications of the decision.

"We have strongly advocated to government and industry that COVID-19 vaccinations should be voluntary for mineworkers," it said in a statement.

Western Australia, where BHP runs its iron ore operations, and which has remained mostly coronavirus free, said earlier this week that it would require all employees that work with natural resources to have a first COVID-19 shot from December.

That was to help protect vulnerable Indigenous communities as the country begins opening up, it said.

Australia's coronavirus numbers are relatively low, with some 120,000 cases and 1,381 deaths. The country's double dose vaccination rate has climbed to around 47%.

(Reporting by Melanie Burton; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore)

Value investing is easily one of the most popular ways to find great stocks in any market environment. After all, who wouldn’t want to find stocks that are either flying under the radar and are compelling buys, or offer up tantalizing discounts when compared to fair value?

One way to find these companies is by looking at several key metrics and financial ratios, many of which are crucial in the value stock selection process. Let’s put The Mosaic Company MOS stock into this equation and find out if it is a good choice for value-oriented investors right now, or if investors subscribing to this methodology should look elsewhere for top picks:

PE Ratio

A key metric that value investors always look at is the Price to Earnings Ratio, or PE for short. This shows us how much investors are willing to pay for each dollar of earnings in a given stock, and is easily one of the most popular financial ratios in the world. The best use of the PE ratio is to compare the stock’s current PE ratio with: a) where this ratio has been in the past; b) how it compares to the average for the industry/sector; and c) how it compares to the market as a whole.

On this front, Mosaic has a trailing twelve months PE ratio of 15.1, as you can see in the chart below:

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

This level actually compares pretty favorably with the market at large, as the PE for the S&P 500 stands at about 24.64. If we focus on the long-term PE trend, Mosaic’s current PE level puts it below its midpoint over the past five years.

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

However, the stock’s PE compares unfavorably with the Zacks Basic Materials sector’s trailing twelve months PE ratio, which stands at 11.7. At the very least, this indicates that the stock is relatively undervalued right now, compared to its peers.

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

We should also point out that Mosaic has a forward PE ratio (price relative to this year’s earnings) of just 7.86, so it is fair to say that a slightly more value-oriented path may be ahead for Mosaic stock in the near term too.

P/S Ratio

Another key metric to note is the Price/Sales ratio. This approach compares a given stock’s price to its total sales, where a lower reading is generally considered better. Some people like this metric more than other value-focused ones because it looks at sales, something that is far harder to manipulate with accounting tricks than earnings.

Right now, Mosaic has a P/S ratio of about 1.48. This is lower than the S&P 500 average, which comes in at 4.92 right now. Also, as we can see in the chart below, this is below the highs for this stock in particular over the past few years.

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

If anything, MOS is in the lower end of its range in the time period from a P/S metric, suggesting some level of undervalued trading—at least compared to historical norms.

Broad Value Outlook

In aggregate,Mosaic currently has a Zacks Value Score of A, putting it into the top 20% of all stocks we cover from this look. This makes Mosaic a solid choice for value investors.

What About the Stock Overall?

Though Mosaic might be a good choice for value investors, there are plenty of other factors to consider before investing in this name. In particular, it is worth noting that the company has a Growth Score of F and a Momentum Score of C. This gives MOS a Zacks VGM score — or its overarching fundamental grade — of A. (You can read more about the Zacks Style Scores here >>)

Meanwhile, the company’s recent earnings estimates have been encouraging. The current year has seen five estimates go higher in the past sixty days compared to three lower, while the full year 2021 estimate has seen three upward revision compared to one downward in the same time period.

This has had a positive impact on the consensus estimate though as the current year consensus estimate has risen by 19.7% in the past two months, while the full year 2021 estimate has improved by 1.4%. You can see the consensus estimate trend and recent price action for the stock in the chart below:

The Mosaic Company Price and Consensus

The Mosaic Company price-consensus-chart | The Mosaic Company Quote

Despite this positive trend, the stock has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold), which indicates expectations of in-line performance from the company in the near term.

Bottom Line

Mosaic is an inspired choice for value investors, as it is hard to beat its incredible line up of statistics on this front. A strong industry rank (among top 16% of more than 250 industries) further instils our confidence. In fact, over the past two years, the Zacks Fertilizers industry has clearly outperformed the market at large, as you can see below:

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

So, despite a Zacks Rank #3, we believe that bullish analyst sentiment and favorable industry factors make this value stock a compelling pick.

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Edmonton, Alberta–(Newsfile Corp. – October 6, 2021) – Grizzly Discoveries Inc. (TSXV: GZD) (OTCQB: GZDIF) (FSE: G6H) ("Grizzly" or the "Company") is pleased to announce a private placement (the "Private Placement") of up to 10,000,000 Units (as defined below) at a price of $0.05 per Unit, and up to 20,000,000 FT Units (as defined below) at a price of $0.05 per FT Unit, for aggregate gross proceeds of up to $1,500,000. Each Unit consists of one common share of the Company ("Common Share") and one non-transferable warrant, and each FT Unit consists of one Common Share issued as a flow-through share for the purposes of the Income Tax Act (Canada) and one half of one Warrant. Each whole Warrant entitles the holder to acquire one additional Common Share at an exercise price of $0.075 per Common Share until the earlier of: (a) 30 days following the issuance of a news release by the Company that the trading price of the Common Shares on the TSX Venture Exchange is at or greater than $0.10 per Common Share for 10 consecutive trading days (the "Acceleration"); and (b) 24 months from the date of issuance ("Warrant").

The Private Placement is being offered to qualified subscribers in the Provinces of Alberta, British Columbia, Ontario, and in other such jurisdictions in reliance upon exemptions from the registration and prospectus requirements of applicable securities legislation.

In connection with the Private Placement, where permitted by applicable securities legislation, any Units sold to purchasers referred to the Company by registered broker dealers, limited market dealers, or other eligible arm's length persons (individually, a "Finder") may result in a cash commission in an amount equal to 7% of the gross proceeds of the Units and FT Units sold to such referred purchasers ("Finder fees"), to be paid out of the gross proceeds of Units to the Finder at closing. As additional consideration, the Company may issue to the Finder Common Share purchase warrants (the "Finder Warrants") entitling the Finder to purchase an additional number of Common Shares equal to 7% of the aggregate number of Units and FT Units sold by the Finder in the Private Placement, on the same terms as the Warrants. Subject to regulatory approval, each Finder Warrant will be exercisable to acquire one common share at $0.075 for a period of 24 months after the Closing Date, subject to the Acceleration.

The net proceeds from the sale of the Units will be used for general corporate and working capital purposes, and the proceeds from the sale of FT Units will be used to incur Canadian exploration expenses as defined in the Income Tax Act (Canada). All Common Shares issued under the Private Placement and any Common Shares issuable upon exercise of Warrants will be subject to a four month hold period from the date of closing of the Private Placement in accordance with applicable laws and regulations.

Exploration expenses will primarily be spent at Grizzly's Robocop and Greenwood Projects. Highlights for the Robocop Project include:

• The Robocop Project is comprised of 9,838 acres (3,981 ha) in nine mineral claims that are all road accessible, just off Provincial Highway 93 in southeast B.C. Sediment hosted Co-Cu-Ag mineralization is similar in style, age and host rocks to mineralization at Jervois Mining Ltd.'s Idaho Cobalt project and Hecla's Revett Formation hosted mineralization near Troy, Montana.

• Initial surface trenching in the late 1980's to early 1990's yielded up to 0.06% Co and 1.93% Cu over 6 metres (m) in one trench, and in a separate trench up to 0.146% Co, 1.8% Cu and 5.3 grams per tonne (g/t) Ag over 5 m in sediment-hosted sulphide mineralization within middle Proterozoic Purcell Group rocks (Thomson, 1990).

• A total of 15 drill holes in the area between 1990 and 2008 have yielded several intersections of near surface Co-Cu-Ag mineralization with grades of up to 0.134% Co, 1.19% Cu and 33.8 g/t Ag over 1.23 m core length in hole R-1990-5 and 0.14% Co, 0.9% Cu and 2.7 g/t Ag over 3.1 m core length in hole R-1990-6 (Thomson, 1990), along with an intersection of 0.18% Co, 0.28% Cu and 4.1 g/t Ag over 1 m core length in hole R-2008-02 (Pighin, 2009).

• All but one of the historical drillholes tested a single target in an area about 500 m by 350 m. The Property is approximately 10 km in length and 3.5 km in width and contains numerous untested anomalous soil +/- rock geochemical targets.

• The Robocop Project is currently awaiting drilling permits.

The Company also has drill-ready and permitted Cu-Au-Ag targets in the Greenwood area including the Motherlode and Dayton Prospects.

The Private Placement, Finder fees, and Finder Warrants are subject to acceptance of the TSX Venture Exchange. The Private Placement securities have not been and will not be registered under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "1933 Act"), or under any state securities laws, and may not be offered or sold, directly or indirectly, or delivered within the United States or to, or for the account or benefit of, U.S. persons (as defined in Regulation S under the 1933 Act) absent registration or an applicable exemption from the registration requirements. This news release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation to buy such securities in the United States.

The technical content of this news release and the Company's technical disclosure has been reviewed and approved by Michael B. Dufresne, M. Sc., P. Geol., P.Geo., who is the Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects.

ABOUT GRIZZLY DISCOVERIES INC.
Grizzly is a diversified Canadian mineral exploration company with its primary listing on the TSX Venture Exchange, with 90 million shares issued, focused on developing its over 160,000 acres of precious and base metals properties in southeastern British Columbia. Grizzly is run by a highly experienced junior resource sector management team, who have a track record of advancing exploration projects from early exploration stage through to feasibility stage.

On behalf of the Board,

GRIZZLY DISCOVERIES INC.
Brian Testo, CEO, President

For further information, please visit our website at www.grizzlydiscoveries.com or contact:
Chris Beltgens
Corporate Development
Tel: 604 347 9535
Email: cbeltgens@grizzlydiscoveries.com

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Caution concerning forward-looking information

This press release contains "forward-looking information" and "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of applicable securities laws. This information and statements address future activities, events, plans, developments and projections. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, constitute forward-looking statements or forward-looking information. Such forward-looking information and statements are frequently identified by words such as "may," "will," "should," "anticipate," "plan," "expect," "believe," "estimate," "intend" and similar terminology, and reflect assumptions, estimates, opinions and analysis made by management of Grizzly in light of its experience, current conditions, expectations of future developments and other factors which it believes to be reasonable and relevant. Forward-looking information and statements involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties that may cause Grizzly's actual results, performance and achievements to differ materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking information and statements and accordingly, undue reliance should not be placed thereon.

Risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to vary include but are not limited to the availability of financing; fluctuations in commodity prices; changes to and compliance with applicable laws and regulations, including environmental laws and obtaining requisite permits; political, economic and other risks; as well as other risks and uncertainties which are more fully described in our annual and quarterly Management's Discussion and Analysis and in other filings made by us with Canadian securities regulatory authorities and available at www.sedar.com. Grizzly disclaims any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information or statements except as may be required by law.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/98768.

Freeport-McMoRan (FCX) closed the most recent trading day at $32.20, moving -1.56% from the previous trading session. This change lagged the S&P 500's 1.05% gain on the day.

Prior to today's trading, shares of the mining company had lost 9.49% over the past month. This has lagged the Basic Materials sector's loss of 8.25% and the S&P 500's loss of 5.07% in that time.

FCX will be looking to display strength as it nears its next earnings release. On that day, FCX is projected to report earnings of $0.83 per share, which would represent year-over-year growth of 186.21%. Meanwhile, our latest consensus estimate is calling for revenue of $6.17 billion, up 60.3% from the prior-year quarter.

FCX's full-year Zacks Consensus Estimates are calling for earnings of $2.97 per share and revenue of $23.04 billion. These results would represent year-over-year changes of +450% and +62.27%, respectively.

It is also important to note the recent changes to analyst estimates for FCX. Recent revisions tend to reflect the latest near-term business trends. As such, positive estimate revisions reflect analyst optimism about the company's business and profitability.

Based on our research, we believe these estimate revisions are directly related to near-team stock moves. Investors can capitalize on this by using the Zacks Rank. This model considers these estimate changes and provides a simple, actionable rating system.

The Zacks Rank system, which ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), has an impressive outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks generating an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Within the past 30 days, our consensus EPS projection has moved 0.42% higher. FCX is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).

Digging into valuation, FCX currently has a Forward P/E ratio of 11.02. This valuation marks a discount compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 12.39.

It is also worth noting that FCX currently has a PEG ratio of 0.33. This metric is used similarly to the famous P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also takes into account the stock's expected earnings growth rate. The Mining – Non Ferrous industry currently had an average PEG ratio of 0.55 as of yesterday's close.

The Mining – Non Ferrous industry is part of the Basic Materials sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 71, putting it in the top 28% of all 250+ industries.

The Zacks Industry Rank includes is listed in order from best to worst in terms of the average Zacks Rank of the individual companies within each of these sectors. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.

To follow FCX in the coming trading sessions, be sure to utilize Zacks.com.

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VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Oct. 05, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Search Minerals Inc. (TSXV: SMY | OTCQB: SHCMF) (“Search” or the “Company”) is pleased to announce the Company has received at total of $1,100,750 from the exercise of 11,007,500 warrants. Each warrant was exercisable into one common share at a price of $0.10, and as announced in the Company’s press release dated August 18, 2021, the Company had accelerated the expiry date of the warrants to September 30, 2021. There were 1,492,500 warrants unexercised and which will be cancelled.

Greg Andrews, President/CEO commented: “We truly appreciate the support and confidence of our shareholder base to exercise these warrants. The funds will be used for general working capital to continue our “Sprint to Production” which includes the following: 1) costs associated with producing the Q1 2022 Preliminary Economic Assessment Report, 2) continued environmental baseline studies, and 3) processing the 80t bulk sample of material for our magnetic pilot plant testing. Our current exploration program is being funding from our $ 2,520,000 flow through funding from March 2021.”

About Search Minerals Inc.

Led by a proven management team and board of directors, Search is focused on finding and developing Critical Rare Earths Elements (CREE), Zirconium (Zr) and Hafnium (Hf) resources within the emerging Port Hope Simpson – St. Lewis CREE District of South East Labrador. The Company controls a belt 63 km long and 2 km wide and is road accessible, on tidewater, and located within 3 local communities. Search has completed a preliminary economic assessment report for FOXTROT, and a resource estimate for DEEP FOX. Search is also working on three exploration prospects along the belt which include: FOX MEADOW, SILVER FOX and AWESOME FOX.

Search has continued to optimize our patented Direct Extraction Process technology with the generous support from the Department of Tourism, Culture, Industry and Innovation, Government of Newfoundland and Labrador, and from the Atlantic Canada Opportunity Agency. We have completed two pilot plant operations and produced highly purified mixed rare earth carbonate concentrate and mixed REO concentrate for separation and refining.

For further information, please contact:

Greg Andrews
President and CEO
Tel: 604-998-3432
E-mail: info@searchminerals.ca

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Cautionary Statement Regarding “Forward-Looking” Statements:

Except for the statements of historical fact, this news release contains "forward-looking information" within the meaning of the applicable Canadian securities legislation that is based on expectations, estimates and projections as at the date of this news release. "Forward-looking information" in this news release includes information about the Company’s proposed exploration programs described herein, and other forward-looking information. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in such forward-looking information include, but are not limited to, the inability to obtain the necessary resources to complete the exploration programs and poor exploration results.

The forward-looking information in this news release reflects the current expectations, assumptions and/or beliefs of the Company based on information currently available to the Company. In connection with the forward-looking information contained in this news release, the Company has made assumptions about the Company's financial condition and development plans do not change as a result of unforeseen events, and that the Company will receive all required regulatory approvals.

Although the Company believes that the assumptions inherent in the forward-looking information are reasonable, forward-looking information is not a guarantee of future performance and accordingly undue reliance should not be put on such information due to the inherent uncertainty therein. The Company does not assume any obligation to update the forward-looking statements, or to update the reasons why actual results could differ from those reflected in the forward-looking statements, unless and until required by applicable securities laws. Additional information identifying risks and uncertainties is contained in the Company's filings with the Canadian securities regulators, which filings are available at www.sedar.com.

BHP Group BHP recently entered into a deal to supply nickel sulphate to Prime Planet Energy & Solutions (“PPES”), one of Japan’s leading lithium-ion battery producers. This will enable Prime Planet Energy & Solutions to develop lower carbon batteries, which will be supplied to Electric Vehicle (“EV”) manufacturers including Toyota Motor Corporation TM.

To this effect, a Memorandum of Understanding (“MOU”) has been signed between BHP Group, Prime Planet Energy & Solutions and Toyota Tsusho Corporation. Notably, Prime Planet Energy & Solutions is a joint venture between Toyota Motor and Panasonic Corporation. Toyota Tsusho Corporation is a general trading company that is part of the Toyota group.

Per the MOU, BHP Group will supply nickel sulphate to Prime Planet Energy & Solutions from its newly constructed Nickel West facility in Western Australia. Nickel West is one of the most sustainable nickel producers in the world. On Oct 1, BHP Group announced that it has produced the first nickel sulphate crystals from the plant. The plant is the first of its kind in Australia and will produce 100,000 tons of nickel sulphate per year, when fully operational. Its production will be enough to make 700,000 electric vehicle batteries each year.

BHP Group, along with Prime Planet Energy & Solutions and Toyota Tsusho Corporation, is making every effort to create a more sustainable and transparent industry, which is working collectively to lift standards and reduce emissions. According to the terms of the MoU, the parties will seek to identify ways to make the Japanese battery supply chain more sustainable by lowering carbon emissions in battery value chains. They will also explore the possibility of recycling battery scrap and used batteries at BHP Group’s Nickel West for further processing and production of nickel bearing products.

Amid the heightening climate-change concerns, development of batteries used to power EVs is gaining utmost importance. This, in turn, has fueled demand for metals, particularly copper and nickel, utilized in the production of batteries. Riding on this, demand for nickel in batteries is estimated to surge more than 500% over the next decade. Thus, BHP Group has been investing in its Nickel West facilities. The company is one of the world’s leading nickel suppliers to the battery metals market, with 85% of its nickel metal currently sold to the battery market. It delivers some of the world’s most sustainable and lowest carbon emission nickel to customers. BHP Group is working toward its strategy of focusing on commodities (copper, nickel and potash) that will help it capitalize on growing global trends such as decarbonisation, electrification population growth, rising living standards in the developing countries among others.

Earlier in July, BHP Group entered into an agreement with Tesla TSLA to supply nickel from the Nickel West mine. In addition to the supply agreement, BHP and Tesla will collaborate on ways to make the battery supply chain more sustainable with a focus on end-to-end raw material traceability using blockchain and technical exchange for battery raw materials production. The companies will also focus on promoting the importance of sustainability in the resources sector, including identifying partners who are most aligned with BHP and Tesla’s principles and battery value chains. BHP Group will also collaborate with Tesla on energy storage solutions to identify opportunities to lower carbon emissions in their respective operations through increased use of renewable energy paired with battery storage.

BHP Group’s shares have fallen 18.4% so far this year compared with the industry’s decline of 8.9%. This can primarily be attributed to the recent plunge in iron ore prices due to weak demand in China on account of its intensified curbs on steel production and slowdown across its property sector. In the third quarter of 2021, iron ore plummeted 49% — the first quarterly loss since the first quarter of 2020.

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

Zacks Rank & a Key Pick

BHP Group currently carries a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell).

A better-ranked stock in the basic materials space includes Veritiv Corporation VRTV which sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Veritiv has a projected earnings growth rate of 214.9% for the current year. The company’s shares have skyrocketed 359% year to date.

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VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Oct. 05, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — American Lithium Corp. (“American Lithium” or the “Company”) (TSX-V:LI | OTCQB:LIACF | Frankfurt:5LA1) is pleased to provide an update on developments and plans across all of its projects and at the corporate level.

Highlights:

• Tonopah Lithium Claims (“TLC”):

  • Big Smoky / Crescent Dunes acquisition closed – TLC now at approximately 12,975 contiguous acres;

  • Received BLM approval to drill up to 15 new holes (approx. 2,000 metres (“m”)) to test high grade target areas (up to 2,361 parts per million (“ppm”) lithium (“Li”) at surface) on recently acquired land in Nevada;

  • Reverse Circulation (“RC”) drills to be mobilized in 2-3 weeks;

  • Plans to twin several holes to test for repeated sections of lithium claystone, drill to basement and determine depth to the water table;

  • Optimization of process engineering and pre-concentration work being fast-tracked to enable completion of a Preliminary Economic Assessment (“PEA”) during Q1 2022; and

  • Approval of Plan of Operations (“PO”) for next phase of development anticipated in late 2021.

• Falchani Lithium Project:

  • Plans to mobilize two Company drills for up to 40 drill holes (approx. 8,000 m) of diamond drilling in and around Falchani; also testing the newly discovered lithium-rich anomalies west of Falchani;

  • Infill and extension drilling on the Falchani deposit, mainly focused around Tres Hermanas;

  • Targeting reclassification of the large, inferred category of the current Falchani mineral resource to measured and indicated and expansion of existing resources;

  • Exploration drilling to commence on 2 key target areas 5-6 kilometres (“km”) west of Falchani identified in recent field work, including grab samples¹ of up to 3,272 ppm Li; and

  • Process to update existing PEA on Falchani for cesium and potassium by-products will commence shortly and will also reflect any resource reclassification and resource expansion.

• Macusani Uranium Project:

  • Plan to launch extension and exploration drilling at Macusani later this year utilizing remaining two Company diamond drills;

  • Plan 12,000 m (70 holes) of diamond drilling on high grade, near surface exploration targets, following recent field work where 90 grab samples¹ averaged 18,270 ppm (2.15% U₃O₈);

  • Targeting expansion of current deposits / resources and test newly discovered radiometric anomalies;

  • Process to update existing PEA on Macusani to commence shortly;

  • Updated PEA to focus on economic benefits of gravity pre-concentration, which has successfully doubled grades to 570-623 ppm uranium (“U”); and

  • Potential to significantly increase throughput / life of mine; through the inclusion of additional resources not previously included in existing PEA (2016).

• Corporate:

  • Executive team continues to focus on strong community relations with all required consents and authorizations in place for next phase of development at Falchani and Macusani;

  • All roads and infrastructure are in place and relevant communities are fully engaged;

  • Recent meeting of management with President Castillo of Peru has provided additional impetus for mobilization to occur in Peru later this month;

  • Ongoing engagement with all relevant stakeholders including positioning TLC as large-scale lithium development project with minimal environmental and cultural impacts; and

  • An application for a listing on the NYSE American Exchange has been filed.

Simon Clarke, CEO of American Lithium states, “The Company continues to move its projects through the development cycle as expeditiously as possible and, in the months ahead, expects to achieve numerous milestones in both Nevada and Peru. I would like to thank all our people for their continued hard work and engagement. Integrating companies’ post-merger takes time; however, the process is unfolding well. The positive impact that our new colleagues have brought and their technical expertise in developing unique styles of lithium and uranium mineralization is a great asset going forward. In addition, we are excited at the potential to up list onto the NYSE American, which we believe will provide greater exposure as American Lithium continues to evolve into a leading lithium developer focused on the Americas.”

TLC

With the acquisition of Big Smoky, north and contiguous to TLC, and additional staking to the east and south, the project has grown to a total of approximately 12,975 acres. As numerous other parties continue to stake and acquire land in the immediate vicinity, the Company’s strategy is to protect and build a buffer around its most prospective acreage while adding highly prospective, contiguous acreage where it can.

An RC drill program of up to 15 exploration drill holes (~2,000 m) on the newly acquired ground, where surface sampling¹ yielded results of up to 2,361 ppm Li, is expected to commence in two to three weeks. Up to 10 drill holes are planned on the northern ground and up to 5 holes on the new eastern ground. In addition, the Company plans to twin previously drilled mineralized holes (which form part of the existing resource), taking them deeper to establish the depth to the water table, test for deeper lithium mineralization potential and to provide material for the next phase of metallurgical processing test work.

As reported on August 19, 2021, the PO submitted to, and accepted as complete by, the Bureau of Land Management (“BLM”) to drill up to an additional 110 holes (~15,000 m) and up to five test pits on the original TLC claims area is expected to receive final approval in late 2021.

Metallurgical optimization test work has accelerated and continues to focus on upgrading, using gravity separation techniques, as well as three viable options to process TLC claystones for lithium extraction: warm sulphuric acid leaching; hydrochloric acid leaching and salt roast-water leaching. Work being completed by TECMMINE in Peru as well as Hazen Research and McClelland Laboratories in the US, continues to generate high levels of lithium extraction. Final phases of test work will also include impurity removal and lithium compound precipitation at ANSTO in Sydney, Australia, where similar work was successful in the final optimization of Falchani mineralization.

Finally, the Company has engaged Minviro Ltd, sustainability consultants, to complete a Life Cycle Assessment on the production of battery-grade lithium products at TLC, integrating environmental impact data into the decision-making process as the Company looks to finalize and optimize its flow-sheet design.

All technical and sustainability information will be integrated into a PEA expected to be completed in Q1 2022.

FALCHANI

At Falchani, the Company is planning an in-fill / resource expansion drill program as well as exploration drilling. The in-fill drill program will focus on the immediate Falchani resource area to upgrade the classification of mineral resources to Measured and Indicated categories. Resource expansion is focused on drill testing north and west of the existing Falchani resource area, where the deposit remains open, and immediately southwest of the deposit where the outcropping Tres Hermanas target is a top priority. Tres Hermanas is a series of outcrops of dipping lithium-rich tuff 75-90 m thick and 750 m long with extensive surface trench samples averaging 3,500 ppm Li from 84 samples¹.

The exploration drill program will focus on targets near the community of Quelcaya, 5 to 6 km west of Falchani and will follow up high-grade lithium surface grab sample results¹ of up to 3,272 ppm Li.

Two of the Company’s diamond drill rigs are expected to mobilize later this month, following receipt of final exploration permits, to complete the 40-hole (8,000 m) program. Access agreements and approvals have been received from all relevant communities for the programs, as these communities will be actively involved in the ongoing drilling campaigns.

Plans are being implemented to update the current Falchani PEA to include potential by-products, SOP (sulphate of potash) and Cesium, following initial successful extraction in test work. The updating of the PEA is expected to commence shortly and will also include the planned resource expansion/reclassification drill results.

MACUSANI

The Company is also planning an exploration and resource expansion drill program at the Macusani Uranium project. The resource expansion program will focus on areas between existing uranium deposits of the Kihitian Complex as radiometric prospecting and sampling work suggests that several of the deposits may be linked. Extension drilling to the northeast and southwest of the Colibri II-Tupurumani deposits will be completed, based also on sampling and prospecting results. As announced September 28, 2021, recent mapping and surface sampling generated over 90 grab samples¹ collected immediately at surface with uranium mineralization averaging 18,270 ppm U (2.15% U₃O₈). This program also identified 3 new exploration targets.

Two additional Company owned diamond drill rigs are expected to mobilize later in the year to start the 70 hole (12,000 m) Macusani project drill program, on receipt of final permits. As at Falchani, access agreements and approvals for this program have already been received from the relevant communities and these communities will be actively involved.

The Company plans to begin updating the Macusani Uranium PEA to include the recent successes in pre-concentrating uranium mineralization into the fine fraction. Test work from three different uranium deposits has shown that 73-82% of the uranium is retained in 31-35% of the original mass, effectively increasing the grade 2.3 times using simple scrubbing and screening in a short, 20-minute cycle. In summary, original mineralization head grades of 245-273 ppm U were upgraded to 570-623 ppm U.

The original Macusani PEA considered only 56% of the total mineral resources in the study². Gravimetric upgrading highlights the opportunity to include additional uranium resources, not previously considered, into the updated PEA offering the potential to vastly increase the potential life of mine production. Higher feed grades also have implications for potential capital and operating cost savings due to smaller throughput requiring a much smaller back-end plant footprint and less energy and reagent use per feed tonne. The updated PEA will also consider using tank leach processing versus the original heap leach option to increase uranium recoveries and add scalability to any potential operation.

Notes
¹ Grab samples are selective, and the selected nature of such sampling does not necessarily reflect potential uranium contents expected from future drill testing, but they do indicate the presence of uranium mineralization and mineralizing systems in the surface rocks collected.

²"Macusani Project, Macusani, Peru, NI 43-101 Report – Preliminary Economic Assessment” prepared by Mr. Michael Short and Dr. Thomas Apelt, of GBM Minerals Engineering Consultants Limited; Mr. David Young, of The Mineral Corporation; and Mr. Mark Mounde, of Wardell Armstrong International Limited dated January 12, 2016.

Qualified Person
Mr. Ted O’Connor, P.Geo., a Director of American Lithium, and a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects, has reviewed and approved the scientific and technical information contained in this news release.

NYSE American Listing
Readers are cautioned that while the Company is pursuing a listing on NYSE American at this time, there can be no guarantee that a listing will be completed. Completion of any listing remains subject to applicable regulatory approvals and the satisfaction of listing requirements. In the event a listing is completed, it is anticipated that the common shares of the Company would continue to trade on the TSX Venture Exchange.

About American Lithium
American Lithium, a member of the TSX Venture 50, is actively engaged in the acquisition, exploration and development of lithium projects within mining-friendly jurisdictions throughout the Americas. The Company is currently focused on enabling the shift to the new energy paradigm through the continued exploration and development of its strategically located TLC lithium claystone project in the richly mineralized Esmeralda lithium district in Nevada as well as continuing to advance its Falchani lithium and Macusani uranium development projects in southeastern Peru. Both Falchani and Macusani have been through preliminary economic assessments, exhibit strong additional exploration potential and are situated near significant infrastructure.

The TSX Venture 50 is a ranking of the top performers in each of 5 industry sectors in the TSX Venture Exchange over the last year.

For more information, please contact the Company at info@americanlithiumcorp.com or visit our website at www.americanlithiumcorp.com for project update videos and related background information.

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On behalf of the Board of Directors of American Lithium Corp.

“Simon Clarke”

CEO & Director

Tel: 604 428 6128

For further information, please contact:

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this press release.

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward Looking Information
This news release contains certain forward-looking information and forward-looking statements (collectively “forward-looking statements”) within the meaning of applicable securities legislation. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements in this news release include, but are not limited to, statements regarding the plans, objectives and advancement of the TLC, Falchani and Macusani (the “Projects”), exploration drilling plans, in-fill and expansion drilling plans, results of exploration and development plans, expansion of resources and testing of new deposits, environmental and social community permitting, completion of an updated PEA, including the timing thereof, and any other statements regarding the business plans, expectations and objectives of American Lithium. Forward-looking statements are frequently identified by such words as "may", "will", "plan", "expect", "anticipate", "estimate", "intend", “indicate”, “scheduled”, “target”, “goal”, “potential”, “subject”, “efforts”, “option” and similar words, or the negative connotations thereof, referring to future events and results. Forward-looking statements are based on the current opinions and expectations of management are not, and cannot be, a guarantee of future results or events. Although American Lithium believes that the current opinions and expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable based on information available at the time, undue reliance should not be placed on forward-looking statements since American Lithium can provide no assurance that such opinions and expectations will prove to be correct. All forward-looking statements are inherently uncertain and subject to a variety of assumptions, risks and uncertainties, including risks, uncertainties and assumptions related to: American Lithium’s ability to achieve its stated goals, including the anticipated benefits of the acquisition of Plateau Energy Metals Inc. (“Plateau”); the estimated costs associated with the advancement of the Projects; risks and uncertainties relating to the COVID-19 pandemic and the extent and manner to which measures taken by governments and their agencies, American Lithium or others to attempt to reduce the spread of COVID-19 could affect American Lithium, which could have a material adverse impact on many aspects of American Lithium’s businesses including but not limited to: the ability to access mineral properties for indeterminate amounts of time, the health of the employees or consultants resulting in delays or diminished capacity, social or political instability in Peru which in turn could impact American Lithium’s ability to maintain the continuity of its business operating requirements, may result in the reduced availability or failures of various local administration and critical infrastructure, reduced demand for American Lithium’s potential products, availability of materials, global travel restrictions, and the availability of insurance and the associated costs; risks related to the certainty of title to the properties of American Lithium, including the status of the “Precautionary Measures” filed by American Lithium’s subsidiary Macusani Yellowcake S.A.C. (“Macusani”), the outcome of the administrative process, the judicial process, and any and all future remedies pursued by American Lithium and its subsidiary Macusani to resolve the title for 32 of its concessions; risks regarding the ongoing Ontario Securities Commission regulatory proceedings; the ongoing ability to work cooperatively with stakeholders, including but not limited to local communities and all levels of government; the potential for delays in exploration or development activities due to the COVID-19 pandemic; the interpretation of drill results, the geology, grade and continuity of mineral deposits; the possibility that any future exploration, development or mining results will not be consistent with our expectations; risks that permits will not be obtained as planned or delays in obtaining permits; mining and development risks, including risks related to accidents, equipment breakdowns, labour disputes (including work stoppages, strikes and loss of personnel) or other unanticipated difficulties with or interruptions in exploration and development; risks related to commodity price and foreign exchange rate fluctuations; risks related to foreign operations; the cyclical nature of the industry in which American Lithium operates; risks related to failure to obtain adequate financing on a timely basis and on acceptable terms or delays in obtaining governmental approvals; risks related to environmental regulation and liability; political and regulatory risks associated with mining and exploration; risks related to the uncertain global economic environment and the effects upon the global market generally, and due to the COVID-19 pandemic measures taken to reduce the spread of COVID-19, any of which could continue to negatively affect global financial markets, including the trading price of American Lithium’s shares and could negatively affect American Lithium’s ability to raise capital and may also result in additional and unknown risks or liabilities to American Lithium. Other risks and uncertainties related to prospects, properties and business strategy of American Lithium are identified in the “Risk Factors” section of American Lithium’s Management’s Discussion and Analysis filed on June 25, 2021, and in recent securities filings available at www.sedar.com. Actual events or results may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. American Lithium undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements except as required by applicable securities laws. Investors should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements.

Cautionary Note Regarding Macusani Concessions
Thirty-two of the 151 concessions held by American Lithium’s subsidiary Macusani, are currently subject to Administrative and Judicial processes (together, the “Processes”) in Peru to overturn resolutions issued by INGEMMET and the Mining Council of MINEM in February 2019 and July 2019, respectively, which declared Macusani’s title to the 32 of the concessions invalid due to late receipt of the annual validity payment. Macusani successfully applied for injunctive relief on 32 concessions in a Court in Lima, Peru, and the grant of the Precautionary Measures (Medida Cautelar) has restored the title, rights and validity of those 32 concessions to Macusani until a final decision is obtained in at the last stage of the judicial process. If American Lithium’s subsidiary Macusani does not obtain a successful resolution of Processes, Macusani’s title to the concessions could be revoked.

How do you pick the next stock to invest in? One way would be to spend days of research browsing through thousands of publicly traded companies. However, an easier way is to look at the stocks that smart money investors are collectively bullish on. Hedge funds and other institutional investors usually invest large amounts of capital and have to conduct due diligence while choosing their next pick. They don't always get it right, but, on average, their stock picks historically generated strong returns after adjusting for known risk factors. With this in mind, let’s take a look at the recent hedge fund activity surrounding The Mosaic Company (NYSE:MOS).

The Mosaic Company (NYSE:MOS) shareholders have witnessed an increase in activity from the world's largest hedge funds in recent months. The Mosaic Company (NYSE:MOS) was in 43 hedge funds' portfolios at the end of the second quarter of 2021. The all time high for this statistic was previously 39. This means the bullish number of hedge fund positions in this stock currently sits at its all time high. There were 38 hedge funds in our database with MOS positions at the end of the first quarter. Our calculations also showed that MOS isn't among the 30 most popular stocks among hedge funds (click for Q2 rankings).

In the 21st century investor’s toolkit there are tons of indicators shareholders put to use to value stocks. Some of the most underrated indicators are hedge fund and insider trading indicators. We have shown that, historically, those who follow the top picks of the best investment managers can outclass the S&P 500 by a healthy margin (see the details here). Also, our monthly newsletter's portfolio of long stock picks returned 185.4% since March 2017 (through August 2021) and beat the S&P 500 Index by more than 79 percentage points. You can download a sample issue of this newsletter on our website .

Kerr Neilson of Platinum Asset Management

At Insider Monkey, we scour multiple sources to uncover the next great investment idea. For example, artificial intelligence is one of the fastest-growing industries right now, so we are checking out stock pitches like this emerging AI stock. We go through lists like the 10 best EV stocks to pick the next Tesla that will deliver a 10x return. Even though we recommend positions in only a tiny fraction of the companies we analyze, we check out as many stocks as we can. We read hedge fund investor letters and listen to stock pitches at hedge fund conferences. You can subscribe to our free daily newsletter on our homepage. Now we're going to check out the fresh hedge fund action encompassing The Mosaic Company (NYSE:MOS).

Do Hedge Funds Think MOS Is A Good Stock To Buy Now?

At second quarter's end, a total of 43 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey were long this stock, a change of 13% from the first quarter of 2020. Below, you can check out the change in hedge fund sentiment towards MOS over the last 24 quarters. With the smart money's sentiment swirling, there exists a select group of notable hedge fund managers who were adding to their stakes meaningfully (or already accumulated large positions).

Among these funds, Platinum Asset Management held the most valuable stake in The Mosaic Company (NYSE:MOS), which was worth $110.3 million at the end of the second quarter. On the second spot was Slate Path Capital which amassed $105.6 million worth of shares. Adage Capital Management, Appaloosa Management LP, and AQR Capital Management were also very fond of the stock, becoming one of the largest hedge fund holders of the company. In terms of the portfolio weights assigned to each position Brightline Capital allocated the biggest weight to The Mosaic Company (NYSE:MOS), around 8.81% of its 13F portfolio. Slate Path Capital is also relatively very bullish on the stock, setting aside 5.9 percent of its 13F equity portfolio to MOS.

As one would reasonably expect, some big names have been driving this bullishness. Point72 Asset Management, managed by Steve Cohen, initiated the most outsized call position in The Mosaic Company (NYSE:MOS). Point72 Asset Management had $25.5 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. David Brown's Hawk Ridge Management also made a $25 million investment in the stock during the quarter. The following funds were also among the new MOS investors: Simon Sadler's Segantii Capital, Ryan Tolkin (CIO)'s Schonfeld Strategic Advisors, and Steve Cohen's Point72 Asset Management.

Let's check out hedge fund activity in other stocks similar to The Mosaic Company (NYSE:MOS). These stocks are Companhia Siderurgica Nacional (NYSE:SID), Snap-on Incorporated (NYSE:SNA), McAfee Corp. (NASDAQ:MCFE), Host Hotels and Resorts Inc (NASDAQ:HST), Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM), Weibo Corp (NASDAQ:WB), and Lincoln National Corporation (NYSE:LNC). This group of stocks' market values resemble MOS's market value.

[table] Ticker, No of HFs with positions, Total Value of HF Positions (x1000), Change in HF Position SID,12,71048,2 SNA,31,499550,13 MCFE,18,125600,1 HST,24,346526,-1 WSM,34,803274,5 WB,14,128195,2 LNC,30,678736,-6 Average,23.3,378990,2.3 [/table]

View table here if you experience formatting issues.

As you can see these stocks had an average of 23.3 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $379 million. That figure was $809 million in MOS's case. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand Companhia Siderurgica Nacional (NYSE:SID) is the least popular one with only 12 bullish hedge fund positions. Compared to these stocks The Mosaic Company (NYSE:MOS) is more popular among hedge funds. Our overall hedge fund sentiment score for MOS is 90. Stocks with higher number of hedge fund positions relative to other stocks as well as relative to their historical range receive a higher sentiment score. Our calculations showed that top 5 most popular stocks among hedge funds returned 95.8% in 2019 and 2020, and outperformed the S&P 500 ETF (SPY) by 40 percentage points. These stocks returned 22.9% in 2021 through October 1st but still managed to beat the market by 5.6 percentage points. Hedge funds were also right about betting on MOS as the stock returned 18.7% since the end of June (through 10/1) and outperformed the market by an even larger margin. Hedge funds were clearly right about piling into this stock relative to other stocks with similar market capitalizations.

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Disclosure: None. This article was originally published at Insider Monkey.

Whether you're a growth, value, income, or momentum-focused investor, building a successful investment portfolio takes skill, research, and a little bit of luck.

But how do you find the right combination of stocks? Funding your retirement, your kids' college tuition, or your short- and long-term savings goals certainly requires significant returns.

Enter the Zacks Rank.

What is the Zacks Rank?

The Zacks Rank is a unique, proprietary stock-rating model that utilizes earnings estimate revisions to help investors build a winning portfolio.

There are four main factors behind the Zacks Rank: Agreement, Magnitude, Upside, and Surprise.

Agreement is the extent to which all brokerage analysts are revising their earnings estimates in the same direction. The greater the percentage of analysts revising their estimates higher, the better chance the stock will outperform.

Magnitude is the size of the recent change in the consensus estimate for the current and next fiscal years.

Upside is the difference between the most accurate estimate, which is calculated by Zacks, and the consensus estimate.

Surprise is made up of a company's last few quarters' earnings per share surprises; companies with a positive earnings surprise are more likely to beat expectations in the future.

Each one of these factors is given a raw score that's recalculated every night, and then compiled into the Zacks Rank. Using this data, stocks are classified into five groups, ranging from "Strong Buy" to "Strong Sell."

The Power of Institutional Investors

The Zacks Rank also allows individual investors, or retail investors, to benefit from the power of institutional investors.

These professionals manage the trillions of dollars invested in hedge funds, mutual funds, and investment banks, and studies have shown that they can and do move the market because of the large amounts of money they invest with. Thus, the market tends to move in the same direction as institutional investors.

In order to determine the fair value of a company and its shares, institutional investors design valuation models that focus on earnings and earnings estimates. Because if you raise earnings estimates, it then creates a higher fair value for a company and its stock price.

Institutional investors then act on these changes in earnings estimates, typically buying stocks with rising estimates and selling those with falling estimates; an increase in earnings estimates can translate into higher stock prices and bigger gains for the investor.

Since it can often take weeks, if not months, for an institutional investor to build a position (given their size), retail investors who get in at the first sign of upward earnings estimate revisions have a distinct advantage over these larger investors, and can benefit from the expected institutional buying that will follow.

Not only can the Zacks Rank help you take advantage of trends in earnings estimate revisions, but it can also provide a way to get into stocks that are highly sought after by professionals.

How to Invest with the Zacks Rank

The Zacks Rank is known for transforming investment portfolios. In fact, a portfolio of Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) stocks has beaten the market in 26 of the last 32 years, with an average annual return of +25.41%.

Moreover, stocks with a new #1 (Strong Buy) ranking have some of the biggest profit potential, while those that fell to a #4 (Sell) or #5 (Strong Sell) have some of the worst.

Let's take a look at Mosaic (MOS), which was added to the Zacks Rank #1 list on August 7, 2021.

Minnesota-based The Mosaic Company is a leading producer and marketer of concentrated phosphate and potash for the global agriculture industry. It was formed through the combination of the fertilizer businesses of agribusiness giant Cargill Incorporated and IMC Global Inc. Mosaic is the biggest integrated phosphate producer globally and is also among the four largest potash producers in the world.

Five analysts revised their earnings estimate upwards in the last 60 days for fiscal 2021. The Zacks Consensus Estimate has increased $1.50 to $4.86 per share. MOS boasts an average earnings surprise of 43%.

Earnings are expected to grow 471.8% for the current fiscal year, while revenue is projected to increase 43.9%.

Additionally, MOS has climbed higher over the past four weeks, gaining 17.6%. The S&P 500 is down 3.6% in comparison.

Bottom Line

With a #1 (Strong Buy) ranking, positive trend in earnings estimate revisions, and strong market momentum, Mosaic should be on investors' shortlist.

If you want even more information on the Zacks Ranks, or one of our many other investing strategies, check out the Zacks Education home page.

Discover Today's Top Stocks

Our private Zacks #1 Rank List, based on our quantitative Zacks Rank stock-rating system, has more than doubled the S&P 500 since 1988. Applying the Zacks Rank in your own trading can boost your investing returns on your very next trade. See Today's Zacks #1 Rank List >>

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(Bloomberg) — BHP Group is in talks about buying into a copper project in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, marking a dramatic departure from the world’s biggest mining company’s policy of shunning risky jurisdictions.

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The Melbourne-based miner is in early discussions with billionaire Robert Friedland’s Ivanhoe Mines Ltd. to buy into Western Foreland, a huge exploration territory that neighbors Ivanhoe’s Kamoa-Kakula mine, according to people familiar with the matter, who asked not to be identified as the talks are private. There’s no guarantee BHP will agree a deal with Ivanhoe, and other mining companies are also interested in the project, the people said.

Ivanhoe said in an emailed response that it doesn’t comment on specific negotiations. A spokesperson for BHP said the company declines to comment on market rumor and speculation. Ivanhoe shares rose as much as 10% on Monday, the biggest intraday advance since June last year.

A foray into a nation emerging from decades of conflict would mark a shift in strategy for BHP, which has operated mainly in more developed countries in recent years. The company sold its last mining asset in Africa — the rights to develop an iron ore deposit in Guinea — to Friedland in 2019 as it focused on Australia, Canada and Chile.

During the 18-month tenure of Chief Executive Officer Mike Henry, BHP’s position has softened. There’s a realization that to get access to the best mineral deposits for the global energy transition, the company needs to operate in more risky jurisdictions. BHP shifted its exploration headquarters to the financing hub of Toronto this year.

BHP is especially bullish on copper, a metal used for wiring that’s crucial to decarbonization. Like its major rivals, BHP is expecting a surge in demand, while long-term supply looks constrained amid a lack of new mine development and as growth in top producer Chile slows amid deteriorating ore quality and huge investment burdens.

Congo Bet

While BHP has already shown more appetite for risk by building a stake in Ecuador copper mine developer SolGold Plc, making a bet on the DRC is a significant step further. While the country is the biggest source of cobalt and Africa’s largest producer of copper, corruption in the industry has kept the nation among the poorest in the world.

The challenges of the DRC are highlighted by Ivanhoe’s Kamoa-Kakula mine, which started operating earlier this year. While it’s one of the highest grade copper mines in the world, with the potential to become one of the biggest, Chinese companies helped fund it as Western rivals were deterred by the risks associated with the country.

Ivanhoe points to the presence of BlackRock Inc. and Fidelity on its shareholder register as underscoring the transparency of the Vancouver-based firm’s operations in the DRC.

Friedland, who is Ivanhoe’s founder and executive co-chairman, made his fortune from a Canadian nickel project and was behind a massive copper-gold discovery in Mongolia that’s now operated by Rio Tinto Group.

(Adds share price in third paragraph)

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Investment in stocks made after an analysis of valuation metrics is usually considered one of the best practices. When considering valuation metrics, the price-to-earnings ratio has always been the obvious choice. This is because calculations based on earnings are easy and come in handy. However, price-to-sales has emerged as a convenient tool to determine the value of stocks that are incurring losses or are in an early cycle of development, generating meager or no profits.

While a loss-making company with a negative price-to-earnings ratio falls out of investor favor, its price-to-sales could indicate the hidden strength of the business. This underrated ratio is also used to identify a recovery situation or ensure that a company's growth is not overvalued.

A stock’s price-to-sales ratio reflects how much investors are paying for each dollar of revenue generated by a company.

If the price-to-sales ratio is 1, it means that investors are paying $1 for every $1 of revenues generated by the company. So, a stock with a price-to-sales below 1 is a good bargain as investors need to pay less than a dollar for a dollar’s worth.  

Thus, a stock with a lower price-to-sales ratio is a more suitable investment than a stock with a high price-to-sales ratio.

The price-to-sales ratio is often preferred over price-to-earnings as companies can manipulate their earnings using various accounting measures. However, sales are harder to manipulate and are relatively reliable.

However, one should keep in mind that a company with high debt and a low price-to-sales ratio is not an ideal choice. The high debt level will have to be paid off at some point, leading to further share issuance, a rise in market cap, and ultimately a higher price-to-sales ratio.

In any case, the price-to-sales ratio used in isolation cannot do the trick. One should also analyze other ratios like Price/Earnings, Price/Book, and Debt/Equity before arriving at any investment decision.

Screening Parameters

Price to Sales less than Median Price to Sales for its Industry: The lower the price-to-sales ratio, the better.

Price to Earnings using F(1) estimate less than Median Price to Earnings for its Industry: The lower, the better.

Price to Book (common Equity) less than Median Price to Book for its Industry: This is another parameter to ensure the value feature of a stock.

Debt to Equity (Most Recent) less than Median Debt to Equity for its Industry: A company with less debt should have a stable price-to-sales ratio.

Current Price greater than or equal to $5: The stocks must be trading at a minimum of $5 or higher.

Zacks Rank less than or equal to #2: Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) or 2 (Buy) stocks are known to outperform irrespective of the market environment.

Value Score less than or equal to B: Our research shows that stocks with a Value Score of A or B when combined with a Zacks Rank #1 or 2 offer the best opportunities in the value investing space.

Here are seven of the 40 stocks that qualified the screening:

Signet Jewelers Limited SIG is a retailer of diamond jewelry, watches as well as other products. The company operates in the United States, Canada, U.K., the Republic of Ireland, and the Channel Islands. The company is often considered the leading retailer of diamond jewelry. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #1 and a Value Score of A. It has a 3–5-year EPS growth rate of 8%.

New York-based GIII Apparel Group, LTD. GIII is a manufacturer, designer, and distributor of apparel and accessories under licensed brands, owned brands, and private label brands. The company’s portfolio includes outerwear, dresses, sportswear, swimwear, women’s suits, and women’s performance wear as well as women’s handbags, footwear, small leather goods, cold weather accessories, and luggage. G-III has a portfolio of more than 30 licensed and proprietary brands, including five global major brands — DKNY, Donna Karan, Calvin Klein, Tommy Hilfiger, and Karl Lagerfeld. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #1 and a Value Score of A.

Nu Skin Enterprises, Inc. NUS develops and distributes a wide range of premium cosmetics, beauty, personal care, and wellness products. While the company specializes in beauty and personal care, it also provides a wide range of nutritional products. Nu Skin’s products are available in more than 50 markets worldwide. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 and a Value Score of A.

MetLife, Inc. MET is an insurance-based global financial services company, providing protection and investment products to a range of individual and institutional customers. In addition to offering individual insurance, annuity, and investment products, the company provides group insurance, retirement and savings products, and services. The 3-5 year EPS growth rate for the stock is estimated at 7.5%. The stock currently has a Value Score of A and a Zacks Rank #2. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Luxembourg-based ArcelorMittal MT is the world’s leading steel and mining company. With a presence in more than 60 countries, it operates a balanced portfolio of cost-competitive steel plants across both the developed and developing world. It is the leader in all the main sectors — automotive, household appliances, packaging and construction. Its steel-making operations have significant geographic diversification with roughly 38% of its crude steel produced in the Americas, 47% in Europe and around 15% in other countries. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 and a Value Score of A. It has a 3–5 year EPS growth rate of 1.5%.

The Mosaic Company MOS is a leading producer and marketer of concentrated phosphate and potash for the global agriculture industry. It is the biggest integrated phosphate producer globally and is also among the four largest potash producers in the world. The company caters to customers across roughly 40 countries. It accounts for roughly 13% of global annual phosphate production and around 11% of global annual potash production. The stock currently has a Value Score of B and a Zacks Rank #1. It has a 3–5 year EPS growth rate of 7%.

Hibbett, Inc. HIBB has evolved its offerings from sports goods to an athletic-inspired fashion-focused assortment. The company provides products for individual as well as team sports across several stores and its omni-channel platform. It focuses on providing a compelling collection of athletic-inspired fashion footwear, apparel, and accessories. The company operates predominantly in the South, Southwest, Mid-Atlantic, and Midwest regions of the United States. The stock currently has a Value Score of A and a Zacks Rank #2. The 3-5 year EPS growth rate for the stock is estimated at 22.4%.

You can get the rest of the stocks on this list by signing up now for your 2-week free trial to the Research Wizard and start using this screen in your own trading. Further, you can also create your own strategies and test them first before taking the investment plunge.

The Research Wizard is a great place to begin. It's easy to use. Everything is in plain language. And it's very intuitive. Start your trial to the Research Wizard today. And the next time you read an economic report, open up the Research Wizard, plug your finds in, and see what gems come out.

Click here to sign up for a free trial to the Research Wizard today.

Disclosure: Officers, directors and/or employees of Zacks Investment Research may own or have sold short securities and/or hold long and/or short positions in options that are mentioned in this material. An affiliated investment advisory firm may own or have sold short securities and/or hold long and/or short positions in options that are mentioned in this material.

Disclosure: Performance information for Zacks’ portfolios and strategies are available at: https://www.zacks.com/performance.

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ArcelorMittal (MT) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
MetLife, Inc. (MET) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
Hibbett, Inc. (HIBB) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
Signet Jewelers Limited (SIG) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
The Mosaic Company (MOS) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
GIII Apparel Group, LTD. (GIII) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
Nu Skin Enterprises, Inc. (NUS) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
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