Talen Energy (OTCMKTS:TLNE) & Algonquin Power & Utilities (NYSE:AQN) Financial Review

Algonquin Power & Utilities (NYSE:AQN) and Talen Energy (OTCMKTS:TLNE) are both mid-cap utilities companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, risk, valuation, dividends and profitability.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings for Algonquin Power & Utilities and Talen Energy, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Algonquin Power & Utilities	0	6	2	0	2.25
Talen Energy	0	0	3	0	3.00

Algonquin Power & Utilities presently has a consensus price target of $7.67, suggesting a potential upside of 14.34%. Talen Energy has a consensus price target of $92.67, suggesting a potential downside of 10.98%. Given Algonquin Power & Utilities’ higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Algonquin Power & Utilities is more favorable than Talen Energy.

Profitability

This table compares Algonquin Power & Utilities and Talen Energy’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Algonquin Power & Utilities	1.06%	5.64%	2.05%
Talen Energy	N/A	N/A	N/A

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Algonquin Power & Utilities and Talen Energy’s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Algonquin Power & Utilities	$2.70 billion	1.71	$28.67 million	$0.03	223.50
Talen Energy	$2.55 billion	2.41	$613.00 million	N/A	N/A

Talen Energy has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Algonquin Power & Utilities.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

62.3% of Algonquin Power & Utilities shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 0.4% of Talen Energy shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.1% of Algonquin Power & Utilities shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Algonquin Power & Utilities beats Talen Energy on 7 of the 11 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Algonquin Power & Utilities

Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. operates in the power and utility industries in the United States, Canada, and other regions. The company operates in two segments, Regulated Services Group and Renewable Energy Group. The company primarily owns and operates a regulated electric, water distribution and wastewater collection, and natural gas utility systems and transmission operations. As of December 31, 2023, it provided distribution services to approximately 1,256,000 customer connections in the electric (approximately 309,000 customer connections), water and wastewater (approximately 572,000 customer connections), and natural gas sectors (approximately 375,000 customer connections). The company's electrical distribution utility systems and related transmission and generation assets are located in the states of Arkansas, California, Kansas, Missouri, Nevada, New Hampshire, and Oklahoma, and in Bermuda. Its regulated water distribution and wastewater collection utility systems are located in the states of Arizona, Arkansas, California, Illinois, Missouri, New York and Texas, and in Chile. The company's regulated natural gas distribution utility systems located in the province of New Brunswick and the states of Georgia, Illinois, Iowa, Massachusetts, Missouri, New Hampshire and New York. It also owns and operates generating assets with a gross capacity of approximately 2.0 gigawatt (GW) and has investments in generating assets with approximately 0.3 GW of net generation capacity. The company generates and sells electrical energy, capacity, ancillary products, and renewable attributes produced by its renewable and clean power generation facilities. It has economic interests in hydroelectric, wind, solar, renewable natural gas, and thermal facilities. As of December 31, 2023, it had a combined net generating capacity attributable to the Renewable Energy Group of approximately 2.7 GW. The company was incorporated in 1988 and is headquartered in Oakville, Canada.

About Talen Energy

Talen Energy Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a power generation and infrastructure company in the United States. The company operates in two segments: PJM, and ERCOT and WECC. It produces and sells electricity, capacity, and ancillary services. The company also operates nuclear, fossil, solar, gas, and coal power plants, as well as engages in marketing activities. In addition, it develops battery storage projects. As of December 31, 2023, the company operates 12,374 megawatts of generating capacity in the wholesale power markets. Talen Energy Corporation was incorporated in 2014 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas.