Genie Energy (GNE) & Its Competitors Critical Contrast

Genie Energy (NYSE:GNE) is one of 105 publicly-traded companies in the “Electric Utilities” industry, but how does it weigh in compared to its competitors? We will compare Genie Energy to similar businesses based on the strength of its profitability, dividends, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, earnings, risk and valuation.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

49.1% of Genie Energy shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 60.0% of shares of all “Electric Utilities” companies are owned by institutional investors. 18.5% of Genie Energy shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 6.2% of shares of all “Electric Utilities” companies are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares Genie Energy and its competitors’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Genie Energy	5.05%	12.80%	7.82%
Genie Energy Competitors	14.13%	9.68%	3.20%

Risk and Volatility

Genie Energy has a beta of 0.3, suggesting that its stock price is 70% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Genie Energy’s competitors have a beta of -2.25, suggesting that their average stock price is 325% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Genie Energy and its competitors revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Net Income	Price/Earnings Ratio
Genie Energy	$501.97 million	$24.01 million	20.53
Genie Energy Competitors	$14.11 billion	$1.54 billion	20.02

Genie Energy’s competitors have higher revenue and earnings than Genie Energy. Genie Energy is trading at a higher price-to-earnings ratio than its competitors, indicating that it is currently more expensive than other companies in its industry.

Dividends

Genie Energy pays an annual dividend of $0.30 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.8%. Genie Energy pays out 37.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. As a group, “Electric Utilities” companies pay a dividend yield of 3.2% and pay out 64.5% of their earnings in the form of a dividend.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent recommendations and price targets for Genie Energy and its competitors, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Genie Energy	0	2	0	0	2.00
Genie Energy Competitors	1429	6549	5527	145	2.32

As a group, “Electric Utilities” companies have a potential upside of 5.47%. Given Genie Energy’s competitors stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Genie Energy has less favorable growth aspects than its competitors.

Summary

Genie Energy competitors beat Genie Energy on 9 of the 14 factors compared.

Genie Energy Company Profile

Genie Energy Ltd., through its subsidiaries, engages in the supply of electricity and natural gas to residential and small business customers in the United States and internationally. It operates in two segments, GRE and Genie Renewables. The company also develops, constructs, and operates solar energy projects for commercial and industrial customers, as well as its own portfolio; provides energy brokerage and advisory services; markets community solar energy solutions; and manufactures and distributes solar panel, as well as engages in solar installation design and project management activities. Genie Energy Ltd. was incorporated in 2011 and is headquartered in Newark, New Jersey.