Critical Review: Consolidated Edison (NYSE:ED) versus Alternus Clean Energy (NASDAQ:ALCE)

Alternus Clean Energy (NASDAQ:ALCE) and Consolidated Edison (NYSE:ED) are both oils/energy companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, valuation, dividends, earnings, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership and risk.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

66.3% of Consolidated Edison shares are held by institutional investors. 0.1% of Alternus Clean Energy shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.2% of Consolidated Edison shares are held by company 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 Alternus Clean Energy and Consolidated Edison’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Alternus Clean Energy	-447.25%	N/A	-56.54%
Consolidated Edison	12.27%	8.70%	2.78%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current recommendations for Alternus Clean Energy and Consolidated Edison, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Alternus Clean Energy	0	0	0	0	0.00
Consolidated Edison	2	9	2	2	2.27

Consolidated Edison has a consensus price target of $99.96, suggesting a potential upside of 11.57%. Given Consolidated Edison’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Consolidated Edison is more favorable than Alternus Clean Energy.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Alternus Clean Energy and Consolidated Edison”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Alternus Clean Energy	$17.36 million	0.23	-$69.46 million	N/A	N/A
Consolidated Edison	$15.03 billion	2.06	$2.52 billion	$5.31	16.87

Consolidated Edison has higher revenue and earnings than Alternus Clean Energy.

Volatility & Risk

Alternus Clean Energy has a beta of -0.75, indicating that its share price is 175% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Consolidated Edison has a beta of 0.36, indicating that its share price is 64% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Consolidated Edison beats Alternus Clean Energy on 13 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Alternus Clean Energy

Alternus Energy Group Plc operates as an international vertically integrated independent power producer. It owns, develops, installs, and operates midsized utility scale solar parks. The company was incorporated in 2019 and is headquartered in Dublin, Ireland.

About Consolidated Edison

Consolidated Edison, Inc., through its subsidiaries, engages in the regulated electric, gas, and steam delivery businesses in the United States. It offers electric services to approximately 3.7 million customers in New York City and Westchester County; gas to approximately 1.1 million customers in Manhattan, the Bronx, parts of Queens, and Westchester County; and steam to approximately 1,530 customers in parts of Manhattan. The company also supplies electricity to approximately 0.3 million customers in southeastern New York and northern New Jersey; and gas to approximately 0.2 million customers in southeastern New York. In addition, it operates 545 circuit miles of transmission lines; 15 transmission substations; 63 distribution substations; 90,051 in-service line transformers; 3,788 pole miles of overhead distribution lines; and 2,314 miles of underground distribution lines, as well as 4,363 miles of mains and 380,870 service lines for natural gas distribution. Further, the company invests in electric and gas transmission projects. It primarily sells electricity to industrial, commercial, residential, and government customers. Consolidated Edison, Inc. was founded in 1823 and is based in New York, New York.