Canadian Solar (NASDAQ:CSIQ) vs. Principal Solar (OTCMKTS:PSWW) Head-To-Head Survey

Principal Solar (OTCMKTS:PSWW) and Canadian Solar (NASDAQ:CSIQ) are both small-cap energy companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, earnings, dividends, analyst recommendations, valuation, risk and profitability.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current recommendations for Principal Solar and Canadian Solar, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Principal Solar	0	0	0	0	0.00
Canadian Solar	2	3	2	0	2.00

Canadian Solar has a consensus price target of $11.86, suggesting a potential upside of 21.25%. Given Canadian Solar’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Canadian Solar is more favorable than Principal Solar.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

52.4% of Canadian Solar shares are held by institutional investors. 39.2% of Principal Solar shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 21.5% of Canadian Solar shares are held 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.

Volatility and Risk

Principal Solar has a beta of 7.92, indicating that its stock price is 692% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Canadian Solar has a beta of 1.16, indicating that its stock price is 16% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Principal Solar and Canadian Solar”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Principal Solar	N/A	N/A	-$400,000.00	N/A	N/A
Canadian Solar	$5.99 billion	0.11	$36.05 million	($0.60)	-16.30

Canadian Solar has higher revenue and earnings than Principal Solar.

Profitability

This table compares Principal Solar and Canadian Solar’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Principal Solar	N/A	N/A	N/A
Canadian Solar	-0.12%	-4.97%	-1.40%

Summary

Canadian Solar beats Principal Solar on 6 of the 11 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Principal Solar

Principal Solar, Inc. does not have significant operations. It focuses on renewable energy and natural gas sectors. The company is headquartered in Dallas Texas.

About Canadian Solar

Canadian Solar Inc., together with its subsidiaries, provides solar energy and battery energy storage products and solutions in in Asia, the Americas, Europe, and internationally. The company operates through two segments, CSI Solar and Recurrent Energy. The CSI Solar segment designs, develops, and manufactures solar ingots, wafers, cells, modules, and other solar power and battery storage products. It offers standard solar modules and battery storage solutions; solar system kits, such as inverters, racking systems, and other accessories; power electronic products; and engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) services, as well as operates battery energy storage projects. The Recurrent Energy segment engages in the development, construction, maintenance, and sale of solar power and battery storage projects; and operation of solar power plants; and sale of electricity. This segment provides operation and maintenance (O&M) services, including monitoring, inspections, repair, and replacement of plant equipment; and site management and administrative support services for solar projects, as well as asset management services. It has a fleet of solar and battery energy storage plants in operation with an aggregate capacity of approximately 1,005 MWp and 600 MWh. It serves distributors, system integrators, project developers, and installers/EPC companies, as well as utility companies or grid operators, public utilities, licensed suppliers, corporate offtakers, and commercial, industrial or government end users. It sells its products primarily under its Canadian Solar brand name. Canadian Solar Inc. was incorporated in 2001 and is based in Guelph, Canada.