Contrasting Principal Solar (OTCMKTS:PSWW) and Talen Energy (NASDAQ:TLN)

Principal Solar (OTCMKTS:PSWW) and Talen Energy (NASDAQ:TLN) are both oils/energy companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, risk, profitability, analyst recommendations, valuation, earnings and dividends.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

0.4% of Talen Energy shares are held by institutional investors. 39.2% of Principal Solar shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 0.2% of Talen Energy shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings and target prices for Principal Solar and Talen Energy, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Principal Solar	0	0	0	0	0.00
Talen Energy	0	0	11	0	3.00

Talen Energy has a consensus target price of $247.10, suggesting a potential upside of 16.78%. Given Talen Energy’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Talen Energy is more favorable than Principal Solar.

Profitability

This table compares Principal Solar and Talen Energy’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Principal Solar	N/A	N/A	N/A
Talen Energy	50.48%	8.59%	3.13%

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Principal Solar and Talen Energy”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Principal Solar	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Talen Energy	$2.41 billion	4.46	$613.00 million	$18.68	11.33

Talen Energy has higher revenue and earnings than Principal Solar.

Risk and Volatility

Principal Solar has a beta of 6.42, meaning that its share price is 542% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Talen Energy has a beta of 1.7, meaning that its share price is 70% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Talen Energy beats Principal Solar on 8 of the 10 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Principal Solar

Principal Solar, Inc. does not have significant operations. It focuses on renewable energy and natural gas sectors. The company is headquartered in Dallas Texas.

About Talen Energy

Talen Energy Corporation is a U.S.-based energy and power generation company. The Company owns or controls approximately 16,000 megawatts of capacity in wholesale power markets, principally in the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic and Southwest regions of the United States. The Company generates and sells electricity, capacity and related products from power plants that use fuel sources, such as nuclear, natural gas and coal. The Company’s Susquehanna nuclear power plant has approximately two boiling water reactors with a combined capacity of over 2,600 megawatts. Its fossil fuel plants are located in Athens, Barney Davis, Bayonne, Brandon Shores, Brunner Island, Camden, Colstrip and Dartmouth, among others. It has an art energy trading center located in Allentown, Pennsylvania (PA), where it manages asset load obligations, fuel supply, capacity and related products, and all supporting physical or financial transactions for its electric generation portfolio.