Financial Comparison: Canadian Solar (CSIQ) and Its Peers

Canadian Solar (NASDAQ:CSIQ) is one of 221 public companies in the “Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment” industry, but how does it compare to its rivals? We will compare Canadian Solar to similar companies based on the strength of its profitability, institutional ownership, valuation, dividends, risk, earnings and analyst recommendations.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings and price targets for Canadian Solar and its rivals, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Canadian Solar	4	6	3	0	1.92
Canadian Solar Competitors	3472	12251	25597	982	2.57

Canadian Solar currently has a consensus price target of $16.22, suggesting a potential upside of 69.16%. As a group, “Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment” companies have a potential upside of 30.48%. Given Canadian Solar’s higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Canadian Solar is more favorable than its rivals.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Canadian Solar and its rivals revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Net Income	Price/Earnings Ratio
Canadian Solar	$4.99 billion	-$104.13 million	-2.50
Canadian Solar Competitors	$1,256.81 billion	$2.48 billion	34.93

Canadian Solar’s rivals have higher revenue and earnings than Canadian Solar. Canadian Solar is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than its rivals, indicating that it is currently more affordable than other companies in its industry.

Profitability

This table compares Canadian Solar and its rivals’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Canadian Solar	-3.73%	-5.57%	-1.43%
Canadian Solar Competitors	-1,280.59%	-126.90%	-4.36%

Risk & Volatility

Canadian Solar has a beta of 1.53, meaning that its stock price is 53% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Canadian Solar’s rivals have a beta of 3.09, meaning that their average stock price is 209% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

52.4% of Canadian Solar shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 54.8% of shares of all “Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment” companies are held by institutional investors. 21.5% of Canadian Solar shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 11.5% of shares of all “Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment” companies are held by 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

Canadian Solar rivals beat Canadian Solar on 8 of the 13 factors compared.

Canadian Solar Company Profile

Canadian Solar Inc., together with its subsidiaries, provides solar energy and battery energy storage products and solutions in in Asia, the Americas, Europe, and internationally. The company operates through two segments, CSI Solar and Recurrent Energy. The CSI Solar segment designs, develops, and manufactures solar ingots, wafers, cells, modules, and other solar power and battery storage products. It offers standard solar modules and battery storage solutions; solar system kits, such as inverters, racking systems, and other accessories; power electronic products; and engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) services, as well as operates battery energy storage projects. The Recurrent Energy segment engages in the development, construction, maintenance, and sale of solar power and battery storage projects; and operation of solar power plants; and sale of electricity. This segment provides operation and maintenance (O&M) services, including monitoring, inspections, repair, and replacement of plant equipment; and site management and administrative support services for solar projects, as well as asset management services. It has a fleet of solar and battery energy storage plants in operation with an aggregate capacity of approximately 1,005 MWp and 600 MWh. It serves distributors, system integrators, project developers, and installers/EPC companies, as well as utility companies or grid operators, public utilities, licensed suppliers, corporate offtakers, and commercial, industrial or government end users. It sells its products primarily under its Canadian Solar brand name. Canadian Solar Inc. was incorporated in 2001 and is based in Guelph, Canada.