Clearway Energy (NYSE:CWEN – Get Free Report) and Talen Energy (NASDAQ:TLN – Get Free Report) are both utilities companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, profitability, earnings, analyst recommendations, valuation, risk and dividends.
Earnings & Valuation
This table compares Clearway Energy and Talen Energy”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Clearway Energy | $1.57 billion | 4.66 | $169.00 million | $0.76 | 46.98 |
| Talen Energy | $2.58 billion | 6.07 | -$219.00 million | ($4.17) | -78.36 |
Clearway Energy has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Talen Energy. Talen Energy is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Clearway Energy, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Analyst Recommendations
This is a breakdown of recent ratings and target prices for Clearway Energy and Talen Energy, as provided by MarketBeat.com.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Clearway Energy | 0 | 1 | 7 | 2 | 3.10 |
| Talen Energy | 2 | 2 | 12 | 0 | 2.62 |
Clearway Energy presently has a consensus price target of $42.00, suggesting a potential upside of 17.62%. Talen Energy has a consensus price target of $458.69, suggesting a potential upside of 40.37%. Given Talen Energy’s higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Talen Energy is more favorable than Clearway Energy.
Profitability
This table compares Clearway Energy and Talen Energy’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Clearway Energy | 5.78% | 1.60% | 0.55% |
| Talen Energy | -6.43% | 53.70% | 5.58% |
Risk and Volatility
Clearway Energy has a beta of 0.81, suggesting that its stock price is 19% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Talen Energy has a beta of 1.77, suggesting that its stock price is 77% more volatile than the S&P 500.
Institutional & Insider Ownership
84.5% of Clearway Energy shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 0.4% of Talen Energy shares are held by institutional investors. 0.5% of Clearway Energy shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 0.8% of Talen Energy shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.
Summary
Talen Energy beats Clearway Energy on 8 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.
About Clearway Energy
Clearway Energy, Inc. operates in the renewable energy business in the United States. The company operates through Conventional and Renewables segments. It has approximately 6,000 net MW of installed wind, solar, and energy generation projects; and approximately 2,500 net MW of natural gas-fired generation facilities. The company was formerly known as NRG Yield, Inc. and changed its name to Clearway Energy, Inc. in August 2018. Clearway Energy, Inc. was incorporated in 2012 and is based in Princeton, New Jersey. Clearway Energy, Inc. is a subsidiary of Clearway Energy Group LLC.
About Talen Energy
Talen Energy Corporation is a U.S.-based energy and power generation company. The Company owns or controls approximately 16,000 megawatts of capacity in wholesale power markets, principally in the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic and Southwest regions of the United States. The Company generates and sells electricity, capacity and related products from power plants that use fuel sources, such as nuclear, natural gas and coal. The Company’s Susquehanna nuclear power plant has approximately two boiling water reactors with a combined capacity of over 2,600 megawatts. Its fossil fuel plants are located in Athens, Barney Davis, Bayonne, Brandon Shores, Brunner Island, Camden, Colstrip and Dartmouth, among others. It has an art energy trading center located in Allentown, Pennsylvania (PA), where it manages asset load obligations, fuel supply, capacity and related products, and all supporting physical or financial transactions for its electric generation portfolio.
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