Financial Analysis: Altus Power (NYSE:AMPS) vs. FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE)

Altus Power (NYSE:AMPS) and FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE) are both oils/energy companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, profitability, dividends, valuation, analyst recommendations, risk and earnings.

Risk & Volatility

Altus Power has a beta of 1.05, indicating that its share price is 5% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, FirstEnergy has a beta of 0.52, indicating that its share price is 48% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Altus Power and FirstEnergy’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Altus Power	19.18%	4.79%	1.16%
FirstEnergy	6.64%	11.38%	2.93%

Insider & Institutional Ownership

46.6% of Altus Power shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 89.4% of FirstEnergy shares are owned by institutional investors. 24.3% of Altus Power shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.2% of FirstEnergy shares are owned 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.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current recommendations and price targets for Altus Power and FirstEnergy, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Altus Power	0	3	5	1	2.78
FirstEnergy	1	7	5	0	2.31

Altus Power presently has a consensus target price of $5.06, indicating a potential upside of 4.06%. FirstEnergy has a consensus target price of $46.27, indicating a potential upside of 15.19%. Given FirstEnergy’s higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe FirstEnergy is more favorable than Altus Power.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Altus Power and FirstEnergy”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Altus Power	$155.16 million	5.04	-$9.35 million	$0.22	22.11
FirstEnergy	$12.87 billion	1.80	$1.10 billion	$1.55	25.92

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

Summary

FirstEnergy beats Altus Power on 8 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Altus Power

Altus Power, Inc., a clean electrification company, develops, owns, constructs, and operates roof, ground, and carport-based photovoltaic solar energy generation and storage systems. It serves commercial, industrial, public sector, and community solar customers. Altus Power, Inc. was founded in 2013 and is headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut.

About FirstEnergy

FirstEnergy Corp., through its subsidiaries, generates, transmits, and distributes electricity in the United States. It operates through Regulated Distribution and Regulated Transmission segments. The company owns and operates coal-fired, nuclear, hydroelectric, wind, and solar power generating facilities. It operates 24,080 circuit miles of overhead and underground transmission lines; and electric distribution systems, including 274,518 miles of overhead pole line and underground conduit carrying primary, secondary, and street lighting circuits. The company serves approximately 6 million customers in Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Maryland, New Jersey, and New York. FirstEnergy Corp. was incorporated in 1996 and is headquartered in Akron, Ohio.