Reviewing Ballard Power Systems (NASDAQ:BLDP) & FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE)

Ballard Power Systems (NASDAQ:BLDP) and FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE) are both utilities companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, earnings, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, profitability, valuation and dividends.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings and target prices for Ballard Power Systems and FirstEnergy, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Ballard Power Systems	3	10	0	0	1.77
FirstEnergy	0	7	8	0	2.53

Ballard Power Systems presently has a consensus target price of $2.69, suggesting a potential downside of 13.36%. FirstEnergy has a consensus target price of $51.13, suggesting a potential upside of 5.29%. Given FirstEnergy’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe FirstEnergy is more favorable than Ballard Power Systems.

Profitability

This table compares Ballard Power Systems and FirstEnergy’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Ballard Power Systems	-91.50%	-14.62%	-12.60%
FirstEnergy	6.76%	10.50%	2.69%

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Ballard Power Systems and FirstEnergy”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Ballard Power Systems	$99.37 million	9.41	-$90.91 million	($0.30)	-10.33
FirstEnergy	$15.09 billion	1.86	$1.02 billion	$1.76	27.59

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

Insider & Institutional Ownership

28.0% of Ballard Power Systems shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 89.4% of FirstEnergy shares are held by institutional investors. 0.2% of Ballard Power Systems shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 0.1% of FirstEnergy shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Volatility and Risk

Ballard Power Systems has a beta of 1.68, suggesting that its stock price is 68% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, FirstEnergy has a beta of 0.6, suggesting that its stock price is 40% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

FirstEnergy beats Ballard Power Systems on 11 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Ballard Power Systems

Ballard Power Systems Inc. engages in the design, development, manufacture, sale, and service of proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell products. The company offers its products for power product comprising for bus, truck, rail, marine, stationary, and emerging market, such as material handling, off-road, and other applications. It also engages in the delivery of services, including technology solutions, after sales services, and training; and provision of engineering services, product and systems integration services, and related technology transfer for a variety of PEM fuel cell applications. It operates in the United States, Germany, Canada, China, Poland, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, France, Denmark, Belgium, India, Taiwan, Spain, Norway, Australia, Japan, and internationally. The company has a strategic alliance with Linamar Corporation for the co-development and sale of fuel cell powertrains and components for class 1 and 2 vehicles in North America and Europe. Ballard Power Systems Inc. was founded in 1979 and is headquartered in Burnaby, Canada.

About FirstEnergy

FirstEnergy Corp., through its subsidiaries, generates, transmits, and distributes electricity in the United States. It operates through Regulated Distribution and Regulated Transmission segments. The company owns and operates coal-fired, nuclear, hydroelectric, wind, and solar power generating facilities. It operates 24,080 circuit miles of overhead and underground transmission lines; and electric distribution systems, including 274,518 miles of overhead pole line and underground conduit carrying primary, secondary, and street lighting circuits. The company serves approximately 6 million customers in Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Maryland, New Jersey, and New York. FirstEnergy Corp. was incorporated in 1996 and is headquartered in Akron, Ohio.