Critical Contrast: SolarBank (NASDAQ:SUUN) and Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL)

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) and SolarBank (NASDAQ:SUUN) are both utilities companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, dividends, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, valuation, earnings and risk.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current recommendations and price targets for Xcel Energy and SolarBank, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Xcel Energy	0	2	8	0	2.80
SolarBank	0	0	1	0	3.00

Xcel Energy currently has a consensus target price of $72.60, suggesting a potential upside of 2.56%. SolarBank has a consensus target price of $6.00, suggesting a potential upside of 146.91%. Given SolarBank’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe SolarBank is more favorable than Xcel Energy.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Xcel Energy and SolarBank”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Xcel Energy	$13.44 billion	3.03	$1.94 billion	$3.44	20.58
SolarBank	$52.15 million	1.51	-$2.56 million	($0.22)	-11.05

Xcel Energy has higher revenue and earnings than SolarBank. SolarBank is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Xcel Energy, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

78.4% of Xcel Energy shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.1% of Xcel Energy shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Xcel Energy and SolarBank’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Xcel Energy	14.40%	10.65%	2.90%
SolarBank	-10.64%	-15.19%	-6.41%

Summary

Xcel Energy beats SolarBank on 11 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Xcel Energy

Xcel Energy Inc., through its subsidiaries, engages in the generation, purchasing, transmission, distribution, and sale of electricity. It operates through Regulated Electric Utility, Regulated Natural Gas Utility, and All Other segments. The company generates electricity through wind, nuclear, hydroelectric, biomass, and solar energy sources, as well as coal, natural gas, oil, wood, and refuse-derived fuels. It also purchases, transports, distributes, and sells natural gas to retail customers, as well as transports customer-owned natural gas. In addition, the company develops and leases natural gas pipelines, and storage and compression facilities; and invests in rental housing projects and nonregulated assets, as well as procures equipment for the construction of renewable generation facilities. It serves residential, commercial, and industrial customers in the portions of Colorado, Michigan, Minnesota, New Mexico, North Dakota, South Dakota, Texas, and Wisconsin. The company was incorporated in 1909 and is headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

About SolarBank

SolarBank Corporation operates as an independent renewable and clean energy project developer and asset operator in Canada and the United States. The company engages in the site origination, development, financing, engineering, procurement, construction, operation, maintenance, and asset management of solar photovoltaic power generation projects. It offers solar energy solutions in the areas of behind-the-meter solar power plants, electricity grid connected community solar gardens, and utility scale solar farms. The company was formerly known as Abundant Solar Energy Inc. and changed its name to SolarBank Corporation in October 2022. SolarBank Corporation was incorporated in 2013 and is headquartered in Toronto, Canada.