National Grid Transco (NYSE:NGG) vs. Polar Power (NASDAQ:POLA) Head to Head Review

Polar Power (NASDAQ:POLA) and National Grid Transco (NYSE:NGG) are both utilities companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, profitability, valuation, earnings, dividends and risk.

Volatility and Risk

Polar Power has a beta of 1.12, indicating that its stock price is 12% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, National Grid Transco has a beta of 0.7, indicating that its stock price is 30% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings and target prices for Polar Power and National Grid Transco, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Polar Power	1	0	0	0	1.00
National Grid Transco	0	5	4	1	2.60

National Grid Transco has a consensus price target of $80.40, indicating a potential upside of 7.01%. Given National Grid Transco’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe National Grid Transco is more favorable than Polar Power.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Polar Power and National Grid Transco”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Polar Power	$11.97 million	0.78	-$4.68 million	($0.61)	-6.07
National Grid Transco	$18.38 billion	4.06	$3.70 billion	N/A	N/A

National Grid Transco has higher revenue and earnings than Polar Power.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

26.1% of Polar Power shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 4.7% of National Grid Transco shares are owned by institutional investors. 32.5% of Polar Power shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Polar Power and National Grid Transco’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Polar Power	-38.21%	-39.10%	-25.54%
National Grid Transco	N/A	N/A	N/A

Summary

National Grid Transco beats Polar Power on 10 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Polar Power

Polar Power, Inc. designs, manufactures, and sells direct current (DC) power generators, renewable energy, and cooling systems in the United States and internationally. The company offers DC base power systems, DC hybrid power systems, DC solar hybrid power systems, and mobile power systems. Its DC power systems are available in diesel, natural gas, LPG/propane, and renewable fuel formats. It serves customers in the telecommunications, military, commercial, industrial, and marine markets. In addition, the company sells its products through a direct sales force, and independent service providers and dealers. The company was formerly known as Polar Products, Inc. and changed its name to Polar Power, Inc. in October 1991. Polar Power, Inc. was incorporated in 1979 and is based in Gardena, California.

About National Grid Transco

National Grid plc transmits and distributes electricity and gas. It operates through UK Electricity Transmission, UK Electricity Distribution, UK Electricity System Operator, New England, New York, National Grid Ventures, and Other segments. The UK Electricity Transmission segment provides electricity transmission and construction work services in England and Wales. The UK Electricity Distribution segment offers electricity distribution services in Midlands, and South West of England and South Wales. The UK Electricity System Operator segment provides balancing services for supply and demand of electricity on Great Britain’s electricity transmission system; and acts as an agent on behalf of transmission operators. The New England segment offers electricity and gas distribution, and electricity transmission services in New England. The New York segment provides electricity and gas distribution, and electricity transmission services in New York. The National Grid Ventures segment provides transmission services through electricity interconnectors and LNG importation at the Isle of Grain, as well as sale of renewables projects. The Other segment engages in the leasing and sale of commercial property, as well as insurance activities in the United Kingdom. The company was founded in 1990 and is headquartered in London, the United Kingdom.