Contrasting Clearway Energy (NYSE:CWEN) & GE Vernova (NYSE:GEV)

GE Vernova (NYSE:GEV) and Clearway Energy (NYSE:CWEN) are both energy companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, profitability, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, dividends, valuation and risk.

Dividends

GE Vernova pays an annual dividend of $2.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.2%. Clearway Energy pays an annual dividend of $1.84 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.8%. GE Vernova pays out 11.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Clearway Energy pays out 129.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Clearway Energy has increased its dividend for 2 consecutive years. Clearway Energy is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

84.5% of Clearway Energy shares are held by institutional investors. 0.2% of GE Vernova shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 0.9% of Clearway Energy shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares GE Vernova and Clearway Energy”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
GE Vernova	$38.07 billion	5.70	$4.88 billion	$17.80	45.19
Clearway Energy	$1.43 billion	5.49	$169.00 million	$1.42	26.92

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

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings and recommmendations for GE Vernova and Clearway Energy, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
GE Vernova	0	3	23	1	2.93
Clearway Energy	0	3	5	1	2.78

GE Vernova currently has a consensus price target of $831.29, indicating a potential upside of 3.34%. Clearway Energy has a consensus price target of $40.14, indicating a potential upside of 5.01%. Given Clearway Energy’s higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Clearway Energy is more favorable than GE Vernova.

Profitability

This table compares GE Vernova and Clearway Energy’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
GE Vernova	12.83%	46.91%	8.80%
Clearway Energy	11.83%	3.01%	1.07%

Volatility & Risk

GE Vernova has a beta of 1.45, meaning that its stock price is 45% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Clearway Energy has a beta of 0.95, meaning that its stock price is 5% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

GE Vernova beats Clearway Energy on 12 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About GE Vernova

GE Vernova LLC, an energy business company, generates electricity. It operates under three segments: Power, Wind, and Electrification. The Power segments generates and sells electricity through hydro, gas, nuclear, and steam power. Wind segment engages in the manufacturing and sale of wind turbine blades; and Electrification segment provides grid solutions, power conversion, solar, and storage solutions. The company was incorporated in 2023 and is based in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

About Clearway Energy

Clearway Energy, Inc. operates in the renewable energy business in the United States. The company operates through Conventional and Renewables segments. It has approximately 6,000 net MW of installed wind, solar, and energy generation projects; and approximately 2,500 net MW of natural gas-fired generation facilities. The company was formerly known as NRG Yield, Inc. and changed its name to Clearway Energy, Inc. in August 2018. Clearway Energy, Inc. was incorporated in 2012 and is based in Princeton, New Jersey. Clearway Energy, Inc. is a subsidiary of Clearway Energy Group LLC.