Financial Contrast: Hubbell (NYSE:HUBB) & NET Power (NYSE:NPWR)

Hubbell (NYSE:HUBB) and NET Power (NYSE:NPWR) are both industrials companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, profitability, institutional ownership, earnings, risk, dividends and analyst recommendations.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Hubbell and NET Power”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Hubbell	$5.84 billion	4.32	$887.10 million	$16.89	28.27
NET Power	$250,000.00	1,074.83	-$578.63 million	($6.44)	-0.19

Hubbell has higher revenue and earnings than NET Power. NET Power is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Hubbell, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings and price targets for Hubbell and NET Power, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Hubbell	0	5	5	1	2.64
NET Power	1	2	2	0	2.20

Hubbell presently has a consensus price target of $556.78, suggesting a potential upside of 16.60%. NET Power has a consensus price target of $3.25, suggesting a potential upside of 171.97%. Given NET Power’s higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe NET Power is more favorable than Hubbell.

Profitability

This table compares Hubbell and NET Power’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Hubbell	14.49%	27.11%	11.48%
NET Power	N/A	212.89%	64.20%

Risk and Volatility

Hubbell has a beta of 0.85, suggesting that its share price is 15% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, NET Power has a beta of 1.16, suggesting that its share price is 16% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

88.2% of Hubbell shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 53.6% of NET Power shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.6% of Hubbell shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 2.1% of NET Power shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Hubbell beats NET Power on 9 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Hubbell

Hubbell Incorporated, together with its subsidiaries, designs, manufactures, and sells electrical and utility solutions in the United States and internationally. It operates through two segments, Electrical Solutions and Utility Solutions. The Electrical Solution segment offers standard and special application wiring device products, rough-in electrical products, connector and grounding products, lighting fixtures, and other electrical equipment for use in industrial, commercial, and institutional facilities by electrical contractors, maintenance personnel, electricians, utilities, and telecommunications companies, as well as components and assemblies. It also designs and manufactures various industrial controls, and communication systems for use in the non-residential and industrial markets, as well as in the oil and gas, and mining industries. This segment sells its products through electrical and industrial distributors, home centers, retail and hardware outlets, lighting showrooms, and residential product-oriented internet sites; and special application products primarily through wholesale distributors to contractors, industrial customers, and original equipment manufacturers. The Utility Solution segment designs, manufactures, and sells electrical distribution, transmission, substation, and telecommunications products, such as arresters, insulators, connectors, anchors, bushings, and enclosures cutoffs and switches; and utility infrastructure products, including smart meters, communications systems, and protection and control devices. This segment sells its products to distributors. Its brand portfolio includes Hubbell, Kellems, Bryant, Burndy, CMC, Bell, TayMac, Wiegmann, Killark, Hawke, Aclara, Fargo, Quazite, Hot Box, etc. The company was founded in 1888 and is headquartered in Shelton, Connecticut.

About NET Power

NET Power Inc. operates as a clean energy technology company. The company invents, develops, and licenses clean power generation technology. NET Power Inc. was founded in 2010 and is headquartered in Durham, North Carolina.