Comparing Hallador Energy (NASDAQ:HNRG) & Clearway Energy (NYSE:CWEN)

Hallador Energy (NASDAQ:HNRG) and Clearway Energy (NYSE:CWEN) are both oils/energy companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, valuation, earnings, profitability, risk, analyst recommendations and dividends.

Risk and Volatility

Hallador Energy has a beta of 0.68, suggesting that its share price is 32% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Clearway Energy has a beta of 0.86, suggesting that its share price is 14% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

Hallador Energy pays an annual dividend of $0.16 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.4%. Clearway Energy pays an annual dividend of $1.69 per share and has a dividend yield of 6.5%. Hallador Energy pays out -29.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Clearway Energy pays out 162.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future.

Profitability

This table compares Hallador Energy and Clearway Energy’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Hallador Energy	-4.85%	-6.71%	-3.39%
Clearway Energy	8.94%	2.28%	0.84%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings for Hallador Energy and Clearway Energy, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Hallador Energy	0	0	2	0	3.00
Clearway Energy	0	2	6	0	2.75

Hallador Energy currently has a consensus target price of $15.00, suggesting a potential upside of 31.00%. Clearway Energy has a consensus target price of $33.13, suggesting a potential upside of 27.40%. Given Hallador Energy’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities analysts plainly believe Hallador Energy is more favorable than Clearway Energy.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Hallador Energy and Clearway Energy”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Hallador Energy	$429.36 million	1.14	$44.79 million	($0.55)	-20.82
Clearway Energy	$1.36 billion	3.85	$79.00 million	$1.04	25.00

Clearway Energy has higher revenue and earnings than Hallador Energy. Hallador 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.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

61.4% of Hallador Energy shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 84.5% of Clearway Energy shares are held by institutional investors. 32.3% of Hallador Energy shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 0.6% of Clearway Energy shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Clearway Energy beats Hallador Energy on 12 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Hallador Energy

Hallador Energy Company, through its subsidiaries, engages in the production of steam coal in the State of Indiana for the electric power generation industry. The company owns the Oaktown Mine 1 and Oaktown Mine 2 underground mines in Oaktown; Freelandville Center Pit surface mine in Freelandville; and Prosperity Surface mine in Petersburg, Indiana. It is also involved in gas exploration activities in Indiana; and operation of logistics transport facility. Hallador Energy Company was founded in 1949 and is headquartered in Terre Haute, Indiana.

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.