Hydro One (OTCMKTS:HRNNF – Get Free Report) and Genie Energy (NYSE:GNE – Get Free Report) are both utilities companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, dividends, profitability, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, risk and valuation.
Dividends
Hydro One pays an annual dividend of $1.02 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 1.8%. Hydro One pays out 59.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Genie Energy pays out 37.0% 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.
Valuation and Earnings
This table compares Hydro One and Genie Energy”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Hydro One | $6.47 billion | 3.67 | $958.32 million | $1.71 | 23.11 |
| Genie Energy | $501.97 million | 0.86 | $24.01 million | $0.81 | 20.37 |
Hydro One has higher revenue and earnings than Genie Energy. Genie Energy is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Hydro One, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Profitability
This table compares Hydro One and Genie Energy’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Hydro One | 14.88% | 11.02% | 3.56% |
| Genie Energy | 5.05% | 12.80% | 7.82% |
Institutional and Insider Ownership
49.1% of Genie Energy shares are owned by institutional investors. 18.5% of Genie Energy shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.
Analyst Recommendations
This is a summary of recent ratings and target prices for Hydro One and Genie Energy, as reported by MarketBeat.com.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Hydro One | 1 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 2.00 |
| Genie Energy | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2.00 |
Summary
Hydro One beats Genie Energy on 8 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.
About Hydro One
Hydro One Limited, through its subsidiaries, operates as an electricity transmission and distribution company in Ontario. The company operates through three segments: Transmission, Distribution, and Other. It owns and operates approximately 30,000 circuit kilometers of high-voltage transmission lines and approximately 125,000 circuit kilometers primary low-voltage distribution lines. The company serves residential, small business, commercial, and industrial customers, as well as municipal utilities. It also provides telecommunications support services for its transmission and distribution businesses; and information and communications technology services and solutions. The company was incorporated in 2015 and is headquartered in Toronto, Canada.
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.
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