Critical Contrast: IREN (NASDAQ:IREN) versus SSE (OTC:SSEZF)

IREN (NASDAQ:IREN) and SSE (OTC:SSEZF) are both finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, institutional ownership, earnings, analyst recommendations, valuation, profitability and risk.

Valuation and Earnings

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

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
IREN	$501.02 million	20.98	$86.94 million	$0.59	65.49
SSE	N/A	N/A	N/A	$0.21	109.32

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

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
IREN	33.03%	1.34%	0.94%
SSE	N/A	N/A	N/A

Institutional and Insider Ownership

41.1% of IREN shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 40.4% of SSE shares are held by institutional investors. 21.6% of IREN shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings and target prices for IREN and SSE, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
IREN	0	3	9	0	2.75
SSE	0	0	0	0	0.00

IREN currently has a consensus price target of $30.89, indicating a potential downside of 20.06%. Given IREN’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe IREN is more favorable than SSE.

Summary

IREN beats SSE on 10 of the 11 factors compared between the two stocks.

About IREN

IREN Limited, formerly known as Iris Energy Limited, owns and operates bitcoin mining data centers. The company was incorporated in 2018 and is headquartered in Sydney, Australia.

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.