Reviewing Avista (NYSE:AVA) & Summer Energy (OTCMKTS:SUME)

Avista (NYSE:AVA) and Summer Energy (OTCMKTS:SUME) are both utilities companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, dividends, analyst recommendations, earnings, risk, profitability and valuation.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations and price targets for Avista and Summer Energy, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Avista	0	3	0	0	2.00
Summer Energy	0	0	0	0	0.00

Avista presently has a consensus target price of $39.50, indicating a potential upside of 3.78%. Given Avista’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities analysts plainly believe Avista is more favorable than Summer Energy.

Profitability

This table compares Avista and Summer Energy’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Avista	9.13%	6.86%	2.25%
Summer Energy	N/A	N/A	N/A

Institutional and Insider Ownership

85.2% of Avista shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.0% of Avista shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 56.8% of Summer Energy shares are owned by company 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.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Avista and Summer Energy”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Avista	$1.96 billion	1.58	$180.00 million	$2.22	17.15
Summer Energy	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A

Avista has higher revenue and earnings than Summer Energy.

Risk and Volatility

Avista has a beta of 0.39, meaning that its stock price is 61% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Summer Energy has a beta of -160.97, meaning that its stock price is 16,197% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Avista beats Summer Energy on 8 of the 9 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Avista

Avista Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an electric and natural gas utility company. It operates in two segments, Avista Utilities and AEL&P. The Avista Utilities segment provides electric distribution and transmission, and natural gas distribution services in parts of eastern Washington and northern Idaho; and natural gas distribution services in parts of northeastern and southwestern Oregon, as well as generates electricity in Washington, Idaho, Oregon, and Montana. This segment also engages in the supply of electricity to customers in Montana; and wholesale purchase and sale of electricity and natural gas. The AEL&P segment offers electric services in Juneau, Alaska. The company generates electricity through hydroelectric, thermal, wind, and solar generation facilities. As of December 31, 2023, it supplied retail electric services to approximately 416,000 customers; and retail natural gas services to approximately 381,000 customers. The company also operates five hydroelectric generation facilities with capacity of 102.7 MW; and four diesel generating facilities with a capacity of 107.5 MW. It also engages in venture fund investments, real estate investments, and other investments. Avista Corporation was incorporated in 1889 and is headquartered in Spokane, Washington.

About Summer Energy

Summer Energy Holdings, Inc., through its subsidiaries, operates as a retail electric provider in Texas, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Ohio, and Illinois. It procures wholesale energy and resells to commercial and residential customers. The company was founded in 2011 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas.