Genie Energy (NYSE:GNE – Get Free Report) and NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG – Get Free Report) are both utilities companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, risk, profitability, institutional ownership, earnings, dividends and analyst recommendations.
Analyst Ratings
This is a breakdown of recent ratings and recommmendations for Genie Energy and NRG Energy, as provided by MarketBeat.com.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Genie Energy | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2.00 |
| NRG Energy | 1 | 3 | 11 | 1 | 2.75 |
NRG Energy has a consensus target price of $198.21, indicating a potential upside of 17.25%. Given NRG Energy’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe NRG Energy is more favorable than Genie Energy.
Earnings & Valuation
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Genie Energy | $425.20 million | 0.85 | $12.59 million | $0.80 | 17.09 |
| NRG Energy | $30.71 billion | 1.18 | $864.00 million | $3.94 | 42.91 |
NRG Energy has higher revenue and earnings than Genie Energy. Genie Energy is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than NRG Energy, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Profitability
This table compares Genie Energy and NRG Energy’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Genie Energy | 1.00% | 4.47% | 2.16% |
| NRG Energy | 2.81% | 109.48% | 6.55% |
Dividends
Genie Energy pays an annual dividend of $0.30 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.2%. NRG Energy pays an annual dividend of $1.90 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.1%. Genie Energy pays out 37.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. NRG Energy pays out 48.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. NRG Energy has raised its dividend for 1 consecutive years. Genie Energy is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.
Risk and Volatility
Genie Energy has a beta of 0.19, indicating that its share price is 81% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, NRG Energy has a beta of 1.35, indicating that its share price is 35% more volatile than the S&P 500.
Insider and Institutional Ownership
49.2% of Genie Energy shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 97.7% of NRG Energy shares are held by institutional investors. 17.4% of Genie Energy shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.4% of NRG Energy shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.
Summary
NRG Energy beats Genie Energy on 15 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.
About Genie Energy
Genie Energy Ltd., through its subsidiaries, engages in the supply of electricity and natural gas to residential and small business customers in the United States and internationally. It operates in two segments, GRE and Genie Renewables. The company also develops, constructs, and operates solar energy projects for commercial and industrial customers, as well as its own portfolio; provides energy brokerage and advisory services; markets community solar energy solutions; and manufactures and distributes solar panel, as well as engages in solar installation design and project management activities. Genie Energy Ltd. was incorporated in 2011 and is headquartered in Newark, New Jersey.
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.
Receive News & Ratings for Genie Energy Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Genie Energy and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
