FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE) & Ballard Power Systems (NASDAQ:BLDP) Head-To-Head Contrast

FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE) and Ballard Power Systems (NASDAQ:BLDP) are both utilities companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, dividends, institutional ownership, risk, valuation, earnings and analyst recommendations.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

89.4% of FirstEnergy shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 28.0% of Ballard Power Systems shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.1% of FirstEnergy shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.2% of Ballard Power Systems shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and target prices for FirstEnergy and Ballard Power Systems, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
FirstEnergy	0	6	8	0	2.57
Ballard Power Systems	3	10	0	0	1.77

FirstEnergy presently has a consensus target price of $51.57, suggesting a potential upside of 4.29%. Ballard Power Systems has a consensus target price of $2.69, suggesting a potential downside of 18.12%. Given FirstEnergy’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, research analysts plainly believe FirstEnergy is more favorable than Ballard Power Systems.

Valuation & Earnings

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

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
FirstEnergy	$15.09 billion	1.90	$1.02 billion	$1.76	28.10
Ballard Power Systems	$99.37 million	9.95	-$90.91 million	($0.30)	-10.93

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

Profitability

This table compares FirstEnergy and Ballard Power Systems’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
FirstEnergy	6.76%	10.50%	2.69%
Ballard Power Systems	-91.50%	-14.62%	-12.60%

Volatility & Risk

FirstEnergy has a beta of 0.6, indicating that its share price is 40% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Ballard Power Systems has a beta of 1.68, indicating that its share price is 68% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

FirstEnergy beats Ballard Power Systems on 11 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

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 Ballard Power Systems

Ballard Power Systems Inc. engages in the design, development, manufacture, sale, and service of proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell products. The company offers its products for power product comprising for bus, truck, rail, marine, stationary, and emerging market, such as material handling, off-road, and other applications. It also engages in the delivery of services, including technology solutions, after sales services, and training; and provision of engineering services, product and systems integration services, and related technology transfer for a variety of PEM fuel cell applications. It operates in the United States, Germany, Canada, China, Poland, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, France, Denmark, Belgium, India, Taiwan, Spain, Norway, Australia, Japan, and internationally. The company has a strategic alliance with Linamar Corporation for the co-development and sale of fuel cell powertrains and components for class 1 and 2 vehicles in North America and Europe. Ballard Power Systems Inc. was founded in 1979 and is headquartered in Burnaby, Canada.