Comparing NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG) and Innergex Renewable Energy (OTCMKTS:INGXF)

NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG) and Innergex Renewable Energy (OTCMKTS:INGXF) are both utilities companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, profitability, dividends, valuation, analyst recommendations, risk and earnings.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

97.7% of NRG Energy shares are held by institutional investors. 0.4% of NRG Energy shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 4.7% of Innergex Renewable Energy shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Dividends

NRG Energy pays an annual dividend of $1.90 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.5%. Innergex Renewable Energy pays an annual dividend of $0.26 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.6%. NRG Energy pays out 223.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Innergex Renewable Energy pays out 185.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. NRG Energy has raised its dividend for 1 consecutive years. Innergex Renewable Energy is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares NRG Energy and Innergex Renewable Energy”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
NRG Energy	$30.71 billion	0.86	$864.00 million	$0.85	147.73
Innergex Renewable Energy	$764.31 million	2.69	$11.60 million	$0.14	72.18

NRG Energy has higher revenue and earnings than Innergex Renewable Energy. Innergex Renewable Energy is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than NRG Energy, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current recommendations and price targets for NRG Energy and Innergex Renewable Energy, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
NRG Energy	0	4	10	1	2.80
Innergex Renewable Energy	0	0	0	0	0.00

NRG Energy presently has a consensus target price of $199.69, indicating a potential upside of 59.03%. Given NRG Energy’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, research analysts plainly believe NRG Energy is more favorable than Innergex Renewable Energy.

Profitability

This table compares NRG Energy and Innergex Renewable Energy’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
NRG Energy	0.74%	70.67%	4.95%
Innergex Renewable Energy	5.51%	5.30%	0.76%

Volatility & Risk

NRG Energy has a beta of 1.24, indicating that its stock price is 24% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Innergex Renewable Energy has a beta of 0.6, indicating that its stock price is 40% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

NRG Energy beats Innergex Renewable Energy on 13 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.

About NRG Energy

NRG Energy, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates as an energy and home services company in the United States and Canada. It operates through Texas; East; West/Services/Other; Vivint Smart Home; and Corporate Activities segments. The company produces and sells electricity generated using coal, oil, solar, and battery storage; natural gas; and a cloud-based home platform, including hardware, software, sales, installation, customer service, technical support, and professional monitoring solutions. It offers retail electricity and energy management, line and surge protection products, HVAC installation, repair and maintenance, home protection products, carbon offsets, back-up power stations, portable power, portable solar, and portable lighting; retail services comprising demand response, commodity sales, energy efficiency, and energy management solutions; and system power, distributed generation, renewable and low-carbon products, carbon management and specialty services, backup generation, storage and distributed solar, and energy advisory services. In addition, the company trades in power, natural gas, and related commodities; environmental products; weather products; and financial products, including forwards, futures, options, and swaps. It offers its products and services under the NRG, Reliant, Direct Energy, Green Mountain Energy, and Vivint. It serves residential, commercial, government, industrial, and wholesale customers. NRG Energy, Inc. was founded in 1989 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas.

About Innergex Renewable Energy

Innergex Renewable Energy Inc. operates as an independent renewable power producer in Canada, the United States, France, and Chile. It acquires, owns, develops, and operates renewable power-generating and energy storage facilities primarily in hydroelectric, wind, and solar power sectors. The company operates through three segments: Hydroelectric Power Generation, Wind Power Generation, and Solar Power Generation. As of February 21, 2024, it owned and operated 87 facilities with a net installed capacity of 3,600 megawatts, including 41 hydroelectric facilities, 35 wind facilities, 9 solar facilities, and 2 battery energy storage facilities. The company is headquartered in Longueuil, Canada.