Genie Energy (NYSE:GNE) vs. Otter Tail (NASDAQ:OTTR) Head-To-Head Contrast

Otter Tail (NASDAQ:OTTR) and Genie Energy (NYSE:GNE) are both utilities companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, earnings, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, dividends, valuation and risk.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings and target prices for Otter Tail and Genie Energy, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Otter Tail	0	1	2	0	2.67
Genie Energy	0	1	0	0	2.00

Otter Tail currently has a consensus target price of $83.00, suggesting a potential upside of 1.08%. Given Otter Tail’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities research analysts plainly believe Otter Tail is more favorable than Genie Energy.

Risk and Volatility

Otter Tail has a beta of 0.56, indicating that its stock price is 44% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Genie Energy has a beta of 0.05, indicating that its stock price is 95% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Otter Tail and Genie Energy”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Otter Tail	$1.30 billion	2.65	$301.66 million	$6.63	12.38
Genie Energy	$483.28 million	0.78	$12.59 million	$0.80	17.89

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

Dividends

Otter Tail pays an annual dividend of $2.10 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.6%. Genie Energy pays an annual dividend of $0.30 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.1%. Otter Tail pays out 31.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Genie Energy pays out 37.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Otter Tail has increased its dividend for 12 consecutive years. Otter Tail is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Profitability

This table compares Otter Tail and Genie Energy’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Otter Tail	21.82%	16.85%	7.80%
Genie Energy	1.82%	6.40%	3.26%

Institutional & Insider Ownership

61.3% of Otter Tail shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 49.2% of Genie Energy shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.9% of Otter Tail shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 17.4% of Genie Energy shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

Otter Tail beats Genie Energy on 15 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Otter Tail

Otter Tail Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in electric utility, manufacturing, and plastic pipe businesses in the United States. It operates through three segments: Electric, Manufacturing, and Plastics. The Electric segment produces, transmits, distributes, and sells electric energy in Minnesota, North Dakota, and South Dakota; and operates as a participant in the Midcontinent Independent System Operator markets. This segment generates electricity through coal, fuel oil, solar, wind, and natural gas. It serves approximately residential, commercial, and industrial customers. The Manufacturing segment engages in the contract machining, metal parts stamping, fabrication and painting, production of plastic thermoformed horticultural containers, life science and industrial packaging, and material handling components and extruded raw material stock for the recreational vehicle, lawn and garden, agricultural, construction, and industrial and energy equipment end markets. The Plastics segment manufactures polyvinyl chloride pipes for municipal water, rural water, wastewater, storm drainage and water reclamation system, and other uses for customers in the horticulture, medical and life sciences, industrial, recreation, and electronics industries. This segment markets its products to wholesalers and distributors through independent sales representatives, company salespersons, and customer service representatives. The company was formerly known as Otter Tail Power Company and changed its name to Otter Tail Corporation in 2001. Otter Tail Corporation was founded in 1907 and is headquartered in Fergus Falls, Minnesota.

About Genie Energy

Genie Energy Ltd., through its subsidiaries, engages in the supply of electricity and natural gas to residential and small business customers in the United States and internationally. It operates in two segments, GRE and Genie Renewables. The company also develops, constructs, and operates solar energy projects for commercial and industrial customers, as well as its own portfolio; provides energy brokerage and advisory services; markets community solar energy solutions; and manufactures and distributes solar panel, as well as engages in solar installation design and project management activities. Genie Energy Ltd. was incorporated in 2011 and is headquartered in Newark, New Jersey.