7 Cash Heavy Industrial Metals & Minerals Stocks With Analyst Confidence

Are you interested in industrial metals & minerals stocks? Are you even more interested when they have strong cash reserves to fuel future growth and expansion? Today we focused on stocks of this nature, and focused in on those that have analyst backing. We think you'll like the list we came up with.

The Current ratio is a liquidity ratio used to determine a company's financial health. The metric illustrates how easily a firm can pay back its short obligations all at once through current assets. A company that has a current ratio of one or less is generally a liquidity red flag. Now this doesn't mean the company will go bankrupt tomorrow, but it also doesn't bode well for the company, and may indicate that it could have an issue paying back upcoming obligations.

The Quick ratio measures a company's ability to use its cash or assets to extinguish its current liabilities immediately. Quick assets include assets that presumably can be converted to cash at close to their book values. A company with a Quick Ratio of less than 1 cannot currently pay back its current liabilities. The quick ratio is more conservative than the Current Ratio because it excludes inventory from current assets, since some companies have difficulty turning their inventory into cash. If short-term obligations need to be paid off immediately, sometimes the current ratio would overestimate a company's short-term financial strength. In general, the higher the ratio, the greater the company's liquidity (i.e., the better able to meet current obligations using liquid assets).

We first looked for industrial metals & minerals stocks. We then looked for companies that have a substantial amount of cash on hand (Current Ratio>2)(Quick Ratio>2). From here, we then looked for companies that analysts rate as "Buy" (2 < mean recommendation < 3). We did not screen out any market caps.

Do you think these stocks deserve to grow higher? Use our screened list as a starting point for your own analysis.

1) Globe Specialty Metals, Inc. (GSM)

Globe Specialty Metals, Inc. has a Current Ratio of 3.36, a Quick Ratio of 2.30, and a Analysts' Rating of 2.10. The short interest was 6.01% as of 06/06/2012. Globe Specialty Metals, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, produces and sells silicon metal and silicon-based alloys in North America, Europe, South America, and Asia. The company primarily offers silicon metal that is used as a raw material for silicone compounds, aluminum, and polysilicon. It also produces silicon-based alloys, such as ferrosilicon; magnesium-ferrosilicon-based alloys known as nodularizers; ferrosilicon-based alloys known as inoculants; calcium silicon alloys; and cored-wire silicon-based alloy products, as well as carbon electrodes, silica fume, and fines.

2) Golden Minerals Company (AUMN)

Golden Minerals Company has a Current Ratio of 2.95, a Quick Ratio of 2.55, and a Analysts' Rating of 2.00. The short interest was 14.68% as of 06/06/2012. Golden Minerals Company engages in the exploration and development of precious metals and other mineral properties in Mexico and South America. The company explores for gold, silver, copper, zinc, and lead ores, as well as base metals. It primarily owns and operates Velardena and Chicago properties located in the State of Durango, Mexico.

3) McEwen Mining Inc. (MUX)

McEwen Mining Inc. has a Current Ratio of 8.03, a Quick Ratio of 7.77, and a Analysts' Rating of 2.00. The short interest was 57.32% as of 06/06/2012. McEwen Mining Inc. engages in the exploration for, development of, production, and sale of gold, silver, and copper. It holds interests in various properties located in the state of Nevada, Mexico, and Argentina. The company was formerly known as US Gold Corporation and changed its name to McEwen Mining Inc.

4) Uranium Energy Corp. (UEC)

Uranium Energy Corp. has a Current Ratio of 4.21, a Quick Ratio of 3.58, and a Analysts' Rating of 2.50. The short interest was 16.81% as of 06/06/2012. Uranium Energy Corp. engages in the exploration and development of mineral properties in the United States and Paraguay. The company primarily explores for uranium. As of July 31, 2011, it had mineral properties covering 41,225 acres located in the States of Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Texas, and Wyoming; and 247,000 acres located in the area of Coronel Oviedo, Paraguay.

5) Cameco Corp. (CCJ)

Cameco Corp. has a Current Ratio of 4.09, a Quick Ratio of 3.26, and a Analysts' Rating of 2.00. The short interest was 1.04% as of 06/06/2012. Cameco Corporation operates as a uranium producer, supplier of conversion services, and fuel manufacturer. The company's Uranium segment is involved in the exploration for, mining, milling, purchase, and sale of uranium concentrate. Its operating uranium properties include the McArthur River and Key Lake, and Rabbit Lake located in Saskatchewan, Canada; the Crow Butte located in Nebraska and the Smith Ranch-Highland located in Wyoming; and the Inkai uranium deposit located in Kazakhstan. Cameco Corporation's Fuel Services segment engages in the refining, conversion, and fabrication of uranium concentrate; and the purchase and sale of conversion services.

6) Teck Resources Limited (TCK)

Teck Resources Limited has a Current Ratio of 4.15, a Quick Ratio of 3.08, and a Analysts' Rating of 2.00. The short interest was 0.69% as of 06/06/2012. Teck Resources Limited operates as a diversified mining, mineral processing, and metallurgical company. It is involved in exploring, developing, smelting, refining, safety, environmental protecting, product stewardship, recycling, and researching activities. The company offers zinc and lead concentrates, and copper and molybdenum concentrates; zinc and lead, and alloys in a range of compositions and shapes; specialty metals, such as germanium, indium, and cadmium; and precious metals, including refined silver and gold ore.

7) Taseko Mines Ltd. (TGB)

Taseko Mines Ltd. has a Current Ratio of 4.96, a Quick Ratio of 4.54, and a Analysts' Rating of 2.30. The short interest was 0.86% as of 06/06/2012. Taseko Mines Limited, a mining company, engages in the acquisition, exploration, development, and operation of mineral properties in Canada. It holds a 75% interest in the Gibraltar copper-molybdenum mine covering approximately 113 square kilometers located in south-central British Columbia; and the New Prosperity project consisting of a mineral lease and 37 mineral claims covering the mineral rights for approximately 94.9 square kilometers southwest of the City of Williams Lake, British Columbia. The company also owns interests in the Aley project consisting of 104 contiguous mineral claims covering 43.

*Company profiles were sourced from Finviz. Financial data was sourced from Google Finance and Yahoo Finance.

Disclosure: I have no positions in any stocks mentioned, and no plans to initiate any positions within the next 72 hours.