Analyzing Clean Energy Fuels (NASDAQ:CLNE) and Centrica (OTCMKTS:CPYYY)

Clean Energy Fuels (NASDAQ:CLNE) and Centrica (OTCMKTS:CPYYY) are both utilities companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, profitability, valuation, risk, earnings, institutional ownership and dividends.

Volatility and Risk

Clean Energy Fuels has a beta of 2.7, indicating that its stock price is 170% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Centrica has a beta of 0.83, indicating that its stock price is 17% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and price targets for Clean Energy Fuels and Centrica, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Clean Energy Fuels	1	1	3	1	2.67
Centrica	0	2	1	1	2.75

Clean Energy Fuels presently has a consensus price target of $3.59, indicating a potential upside of 25.09%. Given Clean Energy Fuels’ higher probable upside, equities analysts plainly believe Clean Energy Fuels is more favorable than Centrica.

Profitability

This table compares Clean Energy Fuels and Centrica’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Clean Energy Fuels	-48.40%	-27.98%	-15.71%
Centrica	N/A	N/A	N/A

Insider & Institutional Ownership

49.9% of Clean Energy Fuels shares are held by institutional investors. 4.3% of Clean Energy Fuels shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Clean Energy Fuels and Centrica”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Clean Energy Fuels	$415.86 million	1.51	-$83.07 million	($0.90)	-3.19
Centrica	$21.55 billion	0.51	$1.70 billion	N/A	N/A

Centrica has higher revenue and earnings than Clean Energy Fuels.

About Clean Energy Fuels

Clean Energy Fuels Corp. provides natural gas as alternative fuels for vehicle fleets and related fueling solutions in the United States and Canada. It supplies renewable natural gas (RNG), compressed natural gas (CNG), and liquefied natural gas (LNG) for medium and heavy-duty vehicles; and offers operation and maintenance services for public and private vehicle fleet customer stations. The company also designs, builds, operates, and maintains vehicle fueling stations; and sells and services compressors and other equipment that are used in RNG production and fueling stations. In addition, it transports and sells CNG, RNG, and LNG through virtual natural gas pipelines and interconnects; sells U.S. federal, state, and local government credits, such as RNG as a vehicle fuel, including Renewable Identification Numbers and Low Carbon Fuel Standards credits; and obtains federal, state, and local credits, grants, and incentives. Further, the company focuses on developing, owning, and operating dairy and other livestock waste RNG projects. It serves heavy-duty trucking, airports, refuse, public transit, industrial, and institutional energy users, as well as government fleets. Clean Energy Fuels Corp. was incorporated in 2001 and is headquartered in Newport Beach, California.

About Centrica

Centrica plc operates as an integrated energy company in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Scandinavia, North America, and internationally. The company operates through British Gas Services & Solutions, British Gas Energy, Centrica Business Solutions, Bord Gáis Energy, Centrica Energy, and Upstream segments. It supplies gas and electricity to residential, commercial, industrial customers, and small businesses, as well as offers energy-related services; and generates power from nuclear assets. The company also provides installation, repair, and maintenance services for central heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems, as well as offers breakdown services. In addition, it is involved in the procurement, trading, and optimization of energy; procurement and sale of LNG; development and operation of large-scale power assets; building of solar farm and connecting to grid; and supply of energy efficiency solutions and technologies. Further, the company produces and processes gas and oil; constructs, owns, and exploits infrastructure; offers central heating, boiler and controls, plumbing and drains, and electrical appliance insurance covers; and engages in the social enterprise investment fund activities. Additionally, it provides metering assets and services, vehicle leasing, and energy management products and services; constructs battery storage and gas peakers; and operates a gas storage and franchise network. The company was formerly known as Yieldtop plc and changed its name to Centrica plc in December 1996. Centrica plc was founded in 1812 and is based in Windsor, the United Kingdom.