Head-To-Head Comparison: FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE) and Altus Power (NYSE:AMPS)

FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE) and Altus Power (NYSE:AMPS) are both utilities companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, profitability, dividends, institutional ownership, valuation, analyst recommendations and earnings.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations and price targets for FirstEnergy and Altus Power, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
FirstEnergy	1	7	5	0	2.31
Altus Power	1	1	5	2	2.89

FirstEnergy presently has a consensus target price of $46.27, suggesting a potential upside of 15.67%. Altus Power has a consensus target price of $5.21, suggesting a potential upside of 32.51%. Given Altus Power’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Altus Power is more favorable than FirstEnergy.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares FirstEnergy and Altus Power”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
FirstEnergy	$12.87 billion	1.79	$1.10 billion	$1.55	25.81
Altus Power	$155.16 million	4.08	-$9.35 million	$0.22	17.89

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.

Volatility & Risk

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

Profitability

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

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

Insider and Institutional Ownership

89.4% of FirstEnergy shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 46.6% of Altus Power shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.2% of FirstEnergy shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 24.3% of Altus Power shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

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.

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.