Babcock (NYSE:BW) and SSE (OTCMKTS:SSEZY) Head to Head Comparison

SSE (OTCMKTS:SSEZY) and Babcock (NYSE:BW) are both computer and technology companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, profitability, analyst recommendations, valuation, earnings, risk and dividends.

Profitability

This table compares SSE and Babcock’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
SSE	N/A	N/A	N/A
Babcock	-7.89%	N/A	-7.84%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings and price targets for SSE and Babcock, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
SSE	0	2	2	2	3.00
Babcock	0	2	1	0	2.33

Babcock has a consensus price target of $2.67, indicating a potential upside of 172.39%. Given Babcock’s higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Babcock is more favorable than SSE.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

0.2% of SSE shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 83.2% of Babcock shares are owned by institutional investors. 3.9% of Babcock shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares SSE and Babcock”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
SSE	$12.92 billion	2.13	$1.61 billion	N/A	N/A
Babcock	$717.30 million	0.13	-$59.92 million	($0.83)	-1.18

SSE has higher revenue and earnings than Babcock.

Risk and Volatility

SSE has a beta of 0.83, suggesting that its stock price is 17% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Babcock has a beta of 1.61, suggesting that its stock price is 61% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

SSE beats Babcock on 8 of the 12 factors compared between the two stocks.

About SSE

SSE plc engages in the generation, transmission, distribution, and supply of electricity. It generates electricity from water, gas, coal, oil, and multi fuel. The company distributes electricity to approximately 3.8 million homes and businesses across the north of the central belt of Scotland and central southern England; and owns, operates, and develops high voltage electricity transmission system in the north of Scotland and remote islands. It also produces, stores, distributes, and supplies gas. In addition, it engages in the electricity and utility contracting, telecommunications, energy trading, insurance, and property holding businesses, as well as provides maintenance services. The company was formerly known as Scottish and Southern Energy plc and changed its name to SSE plc in September 2011. SSE plc was incorporated in 1989 and is based in Perth, the United Kingdom.

About Babcock

Babcock & Wilcox Enterprises, Inc. engages in the provision of fossil and renewable power generation and environmental equipment. It operates through the following segments: B&W Renewable, B&W Environmental, and B&W Thermal. The B&W Renewable segment supports a circular economy, diverting waste from landfills to use for power generation and replacing fossil fuels, while recovering metals and reducing emissions. The B&W Environmental segment focuses on systems for cooling, ash handling, particulate control, nitrogen oxides and sulfur dioxides removal, chemical looping for carbon control, and mercury control. The B&W Thermal segment offers steam generation equipment, aftermarket parts, construction, maintenance, and field services for plants in the power generation, oil and gas, and industrial sectors. The company was founded by George H. Babcock, Stephen Wilcox, Jr., and Joseph P. Manton in 1856 and is headquartered in Akron, OH.