Head to Head Comparison: Expand Energy (NASDAQ:EXE) versus Ameresco (NYSE:AMRC)

Ameresco (NYSE:AMRC) and Expand Energy (NASDAQ:EXE) are both energy companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their risk, earnings, institutional ownership, dividends, analyst recommendations, valuation and profitability.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and recommmendations for Ameresco and Expand Energy, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Ameresco	0	3	8	0	2.73
Expand Energy	0	3	17	1	2.90

Ameresco currently has a consensus price target of $37.80, indicating a potential upside of 16.29%. Expand Energy has a consensus price target of $130.33, indicating a potential upside of 19.04%. Given Expand Energy’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Expand Energy is more favorable than Ameresco.

Profitability

This table compares Ameresco and Expand Energy’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Ameresco	3.34%	6.97%	1.74%
Expand Energy	7.99%	6.31%	4.02%

Volatility and Risk

Ameresco has a beta of 2.5, indicating that its stock price is 150% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Expand Energy has a beta of 0.46, indicating that its stock price is 54% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Ameresco and Expand Energy”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Ameresco	$1.77 billion	0.97	$56.76 million	$1.19	27.32
Expand Energy	$10.85 billion	2.40	-$714.00 million	$3.52	31.11

Ameresco has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Expand Energy. Ameresco is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Expand Energy, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

99.2% of Ameresco shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 97.9% of Expand Energy shares are held by institutional investors. 45.0% of Ameresco shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 0.2% of Expand Energy shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

Expand Energy beats Ameresco on 10 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Ameresco

Ameresco, Inc., a clean technology integrator, provides a portfolio of energy efficiency and renewable energy supply solutions in the United States, Canada, Europe, and internationally. It operates through U.S. Regions, U.S. Federal, Canada, Europe, Alternative Fuels, and All Other segments. The company offers energy efficiency, infrastructure upgrades, energy security and resilience, asset sustainability, and renewable energy solutions for businesses and organizations. It designs, develops, engineers, and installs projects that reduce the energy, as well as operations and maintenance (O&M) costs of its customers' facilities; and projects primarily include various measures customized for the facility and designed to enhance the efficiency of building systems, such as heating, ventilation, cooling, and lighting systems. In addition, the company offers renewable energy solutions and services, such as the construction of small-scale plants that the company owns or develops for customers that produce electricity, gas, heat, or cooling from renewable sources of energy and O&M services; and electricity, processed renewable gas fuel, and heat or cooling produced from renewable sources of energy. Further, the company sells photovoltaic (PV) solar energy products and systems, as well as provides consulting, and enterprise energy management services; and operates wind farms. It serves the federal, state, local governments, healthcare and educational institutions, airports, public housing authorities and public universities, municipal utilities, and commercial and industrial customers. As of December 31, 2023, the company owned and operated 185 small-scale renewable energy plants and solar PV installations. Ameresco, Inc. was incorporated in 2000 and is headquartered in Framingham, Massachusetts.

About Expand Energy

Expand Energy Corporation is an independent natural gas producer principally in the United States. Expand Energy Corporation, formerly known as Chesapeake Energy Corporation, is based in OKLAHOMA CITY.