SolarBank (NASDAQ:SUUN) vs. CMS Energy (NYSE:CMS) Head to Head Contrast

CMS Energy (NYSE:CMS) and SolarBank (NASDAQ:SUUN) are both utilities companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their risk, institutional ownership, profitability, earnings, dividends, valuation and analyst recommendations.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings for CMS Energy and SolarBank, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
CMS Energy	0	5	7	0	2.58
SolarBank	0	0	2	0	3.00

CMS Energy presently has a consensus price target of $77.00, indicating a potential upside of 9.24%. SolarBank has a consensus price target of $6.00, indicating a potential upside of 324.03%. Given SolarBank’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe SolarBank is more favorable than CMS Energy.

Volatility and Risk

CMS Energy has a beta of 0.39, meaning that its stock price is 61% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, SolarBank has a beta of 0.83, meaning that its stock price is 17% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares CMS Energy and SolarBank’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
CMS Energy	13.35%	12.02%	2.90%
SolarBank	-10.64%	-15.19%	-6.41%

Institutional and Insider Ownership

93.6% of CMS Energy shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.5% of CMS Energy shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares CMS Energy and SolarBank”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
CMS Energy	$7.79 billion	2.71	$1.00 billion	$3.37	20.92
SolarBank	$37.08 million	1.35	-$2.56 million	($0.45)	-3.14

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

Summary

CMS Energy beats SolarBank on 11 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About CMS Energy

CMS Energy Corporation operates as an energy company primarily in Michigan. The company operates through three segments: Electric Utility; Gas Utility; and Enterprises. The Electric Utility segment is involved in the generation, purchase, transmission, distribution, and sale of electricity. This segment generates electricity through coal, wind, gas, renewable energy, oil, and nuclear sources. Its distribution system comprises 208 miles of high-voltage distribution overhead lines; 4 miles of high-voltage distribution underground lines; 4,428 miles of high-voltage distribution overhead lines; 19 miles of high-voltage distribution underground lines; 82,474 miles of electric distribution overhead lines; 9,395 miles of underground distribution lines; 1,093 substations; and 3 battery facilities. The Gas Utility segment engages in the purchase, transmission, storage, distribution, and sale of natural gas, which includes 2,392 miles of transmission lines; 15 gas storage fields; 28,065 miles of distribution mains; and 8 compressor stations. The Enterprises segment is involved in the independent power production and marketing, including the development and operation of renewable generation. It serves 1.9 million electric and 1.8 million gas customers, including residential, commercial, and diversified industrial customers. The company was incorporated in 1987 and is headquartered in Jackson, Michigan.

About SolarBank

SolarBank Corporation operates as an independent renewable and clean energy project developer and asset operator in Canada and the United States. The company engages in the site origination, development, financing, engineering, procurement, construction, operation, maintenance, and asset management of solar photovoltaic power generation projects. It offers solar energy solutions in the areas of behind-the-meter solar power plants, electricity grid connected community solar gardens, and utility scale solar farms. The company was formerly known as Abundant Solar Energy Inc. and changed its name to SolarBank Corporation in October 2022. SolarBank Corporation was incorporated in 2013 and is headquartered in Toronto, Canada.