NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG – Get Free Report) and Ballard Power Systems (NASDAQ:BLDP – Get Free Report) are both utilities companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, profitability, institutional ownership, earnings, dividends, risk and analyst recommendations.
Analyst Recommendations
This is a summary of current ratings and target prices for NRG Energy and Ballard Power Systems, as reported by MarketBeat.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| NRG Energy | 1 | 3 | 9 | 1 | 2.71 |
| Ballard Power Systems | 4 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 1.73 |
NRG Energy presently has a consensus target price of $196.33, suggesting a potential upside of 26.99%. Ballard Power Systems has a consensus target price of $2.33, suggesting a potential upside of 15.92%. Given NRG Energy’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe NRG Energy is more favorable than Ballard Power Systems.
Volatility and Risk
Profitability
This table compares NRG Energy and Ballard Power Systems’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| NRG Energy | 2.81% | 109.48% | 6.55% |
| Ballard Power Systems | -132.80% | -17.89% | -15.43% |
Earnings and Valuation
This table compares NRG Energy and Ballard Power Systems”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| NRG Energy | $30.71 billion | 1.08 | $864.00 million | $3.94 | 39.24 |
| Ballard Power Systems | $69.73 million | 8.67 | -$324.24 million | ($0.40) | -5.03 |
NRG Energy has higher revenue and earnings than Ballard Power Systems. Ballard Power Systems is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than NRG Energy, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Institutional and Insider Ownership
97.7% of NRG Energy shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 28.0% of Ballard Power Systems shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.9% of NRG Energy shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 0.2% of Ballard Power Systems shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.
Summary
NRG Energy beats Ballard Power Systems on 13 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.
About NRG Energy
NRG Energy, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates as an energy and home services company in the United States and Canada. It operates through Texas; East; West/Services/Other; Vivint Smart Home; and Corporate Activities segments. The company produces and sells electricity generated using coal, oil, solar, and battery storage; natural gas; and a cloud-based home platform, including hardware, software, sales, installation, customer service, technical support, and professional monitoring solutions. It offers retail electricity and energy management, line and surge protection products, HVAC installation, repair and maintenance, home protection products, carbon offsets, back-up power stations, portable power, portable solar, and portable lighting; retail services comprising demand response, commodity sales, energy efficiency, and energy management solutions; and system power, distributed generation, renewable and low-carbon products, carbon management and specialty services, backup generation, storage and distributed solar, and energy advisory services. In addition, the company trades in power, natural gas, and related commodities; environmental products; weather products; and financial products, including forwards, futures, options, and swaps. It offers its products and services under the NRG, Reliant, Direct Energy, Green Mountain Energy, and Vivint. It serves residential, commercial, government, industrial, and wholesale customers. NRG Energy, Inc. was founded in 1989 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas.
About Ballard Power Systems
Ballard Power Systems Inc. engages in the design, development, manufacture, sale, and service of proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell products. The company offers its products for power product comprising for bus, truck, rail, marine, stationary, and emerging market, such as material handling, off-road, and other applications. It also engages in the delivery of services, including technology solutions, after sales services, and training; and provision of engineering services, product and systems integration services, and related technology transfer for a variety of PEM fuel cell applications. It operates in the United States, Germany, Canada, China, Poland, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, France, Denmark, Belgium, India, Taiwan, Spain, Norway, Australia, Japan, and internationally. The company has a strategic alliance with Linamar Corporation for the co-development and sale of fuel cell powertrains and components for class 1 and 2 vehicles in North America and Europe. Ballard Power Systems Inc. was founded in 1979 and is headquartered in Burnaby, Canada.
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