Contrasting Just Energy Group (OTCMKTS:JENGQ) & Avista (NYSE:AVA)

Just Energy Group (OTCMKTS:JENGQ) and Avista (NYSE:AVA) are both utilities companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, profitability, valuation, analyst recommendations, earnings, risk and dividends.

Profitability

This table compares Just Energy Group and Avista’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Just Energy Group	6.16%	98.77%	9.12%
Avista	11.83%	7.85%	2.57%

Institutional and Insider Ownership

28.9% of Just Energy Group shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 85.2% of Avista shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.8% of Avista shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Risk & Volatility

Just Energy Group has a beta of 0.36, indicating that its stock price is 64% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Avista has a beta of 0.25, indicating that its stock price is 75% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings and target prices for Just Energy Group and Avista, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Just Energy Group	0	0	0	0	0.00
Avista	0	6	1	0	2.14

Avista has a consensus target price of $39.25, suggesting a potential upside of 1.82%. Given Avista’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Avista is more favorable than Just Energy Group.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Just Energy Group and Avista”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Just Energy Group	$2.15 billion	0.00	$678.53 million	$2.84	0.01
Avista	$1.96 billion	1.64	$193.00 million	$2.77	13.92

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

Summary

Avista beats Just Energy Group on 8 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Just Energy Group

Just Energy Group Inc., through its subsidiaries, provides electricity and natural gas commodities in the United States and Canada. It operates through two segments, The Mass Market and The Commercial. The company offers fixed, variable, index and flat rate commodity products, as well as Just Green products; smart thermostats; and subscription-based home water filtration systems, including under-counter and whole-home water filtration solution, as well as sustainable carbon emissions solutions. It offers energy solutions under the Just Energy, Tara Energy, Amigo Energy, and terrapass brands. The company serves residential and commercial customers through brokers, door-to-door commercial independent contractors, and inside commercial sales representatives. Just Energy Group Inc. was founded in 1997 and is based in Toronto, Canada.

About Avista

Avista Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an electric and natural gas utility company. It operates in two segments, Avista Utilities and AEL&P. The Avista Utilities segment provides electric distribution and transmission, and natural gas distribution services in parts of eastern Washington and northern Idaho; and natural gas distribution services in parts of northeastern and southwestern Oregon, as well as generates electricity in Washington, Idaho, Oregon, and Montana. This segment also engages in the supply of electricity to customers in Montana; and wholesale purchase and sale of electricity and natural gas. The AEL&P segment offers electric services in Juneau, Alaska. The company generates electricity through hydroelectric, thermal, wind, and solar generation facilities. As of December 31, 2023, it supplied retail electric services to approximately 416,000 customers; and retail natural gas services to approximately 381,000 customers. The company also operates five hydroelectric generation facilities with capacity of 102.7 MW; and four diesel generating facilities with a capacity of 107.5 MW. It also engages in venture fund investments, real estate investments, and other investments. Avista Corporation was incorporated in 1889 and is headquartered in Spokane, Washington.