Talen Energy (NASDAQ:TLN) and Central Puerto (NYSE:CEPU) Critical Analysis

Talen Energy (NASDAQ:TLN) and Central Puerto (NYSE:CEPU) are both oils/energy companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, dividends, profitability, valuation, risk and earnings.

Profitability

This table compares Talen Energy and Central Puerto’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Talen Energy	41.79%	2.27%	0.82%
Central Puerto	52.54%	21.76%	14.28%

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings and target prices for Talen Energy and Central Puerto, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Talen Energy	0	0	9	0	3.00
Central Puerto	0	1	0	0	2.00

Talen Energy presently has a consensus price target of $205.33, indicating a potential upside of 18.09%. Central Puerto has a consensus price target of $12.00, indicating a potential upside of 6.86%. Given Talen Energy’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities analysts clearly believe Talen Energy is more favorable than Central Puerto.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Talen Energy and Central Puerto”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Talen Energy	$2.55 billion	3.47	$613.00 million	N/A	N/A
Central Puerto	$354.50 billion	0.00	$562.57 million	$2.45	4.58

Talen Energy has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Central Puerto.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

0.4% of Talen Energy shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 3.0% of Central Puerto shares are held by institutional investors. 0.2% of Talen Energy shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 0.1% of Central Puerto shares are held 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.

Summary

Talen Energy beats Central Puerto on 6 of the 11 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Talen Energy

Talen Energy Corporation is a U.S.-based energy and power generation company. The Company owns or controls approximately 16,000 megawatts of capacity in wholesale power markets, principally in the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic and Southwest regions of the United States. The Company generates and sells electricity, capacity and related products from power plants that use fuel sources, such as nuclear, natural gas and coal. The Company’s Susquehanna nuclear power plant has approximately two boiling water reactors with a combined capacity of over 2,600 megawatts. Its fossil fuel plants are located in Athens, Barney Davis, Bayonne, Brandon Shores, Brunner Island, Camden, Colstrip and Dartmouth, among others. It has an art energy trading center located in Allentown, Pennsylvania (PA), where it manages asset load obligations, fuel supply, capacity and related products, and all supporting physical or financial transactions for its electric generation portfolio.

About Central Puerto

Central Puerto S.A. engages in the electric power generation in Argentina. It operates through three segments: Electric Power Generation from Conventional Sources, Electric Power Generation from Renewable Sources, and Natural Gas Transport and Distribution. The company generates energy through thermal, hydroelectric, and wind farms. It also engages in the natural gas transport and distribution business. Central Puerto S.A. was founded in 1898 and is based in Buenos Aires, Argentina.