Central Puerto (NYSE:CEPU) & Bloom Energy (NYSE:BE) Critical Review

Bloom Energy (NYSE:BE) and Central Puerto (NYSE:CEPU) are both energy companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, earnings, valuation, dividends, profitability, risk and analyst recommendations.

Volatility and Risk

Bloom Energy has a beta of 3.01, indicating that its share price is 201% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Central Puerto has a beta of 1.06, indicating that its share price is 6% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Bloom Energy and Central Puerto”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Bloom Energy	$1.47 billion	23.96	-$29.23 million	N/A	N/A
Central Puerto	$810.70 million	2.85	$54.56 million	$1.48	10.30

Central Puerto has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Bloom Energy.

Profitability

This table compares Bloom Energy and Central Puerto’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Bloom Energy	0.84%	8.74%	2.08%
Central Puerto	28.24%	15.01%	10.43%

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings and price targets for Bloom Energy and Central Puerto, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Bloom Energy	3	12	10	1	2.35
Central Puerto	0	1	1	0	2.50

Bloom Energy currently has a consensus target price of $96.00, suggesting a potential downside of 35.70%. Central Puerto has a consensus target price of $17.50, suggesting a potential upside of 14.81%. Given Central Puerto’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Central Puerto is more favorable than Bloom Energy.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

77.0% of Bloom Energy shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 3.0% of Central Puerto shares are owned by institutional investors. 3.6% of Bloom Energy shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.1% of Central Puerto shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

Bloom Energy beats Central Puerto on 8 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Bloom Energy

Bloom Energy Corporation designs, manufactures, sells, and installs solid-oxide fuel cell systems for on-site power generation in the United States and internationally. The company offers Bloom Energy Server, a solid oxide technology that converts fuel, such as natural gas, biogas, hydrogen, or a blend of these fuels into electricity through an electrochemical process without combustion. It sells its products through direct and indirect sales channels to utilities, data centers, agriculture, retail, hospitals, higher education, biotech, and manufacturing industries. The company was formerly known as Ion America Corp. and changed its name to Bloom Energy Corporation in 2006. Bloom Energy Corporation was incorporated in 2001 and is headquartered in San Jose, California.

About Central Puerto

Central Puerto S.A. engages in the electric power generation in Argentina. It operates through three segments: Electric Power Generation from Conventional Sources, Electric Power Generation from Renewable Sources, and Natural Gas Transport and Distribution. The company generates energy through thermal, hydroelectric, and wind farms. It also engages in the natural gas transport and distribution business. Central Puerto S.A. was founded in 1898 and is based in Buenos Aires, Argentina.