Reviewing Entergy (NYSE:ETR) and Commerce Energy Group (OTCMKTS:CMNR)

Entergy (NYSE:ETR) and Commerce Energy Group (OTCMKTS:CMNR) are both utilities companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, risk, profitability, earnings, dividends, analyst recommendations and valuation.

Profitability

This table compares Entergy and Commerce Energy Group’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Entergy	17.75%	10.20%	2.36%
Commerce Energy Group	N/A	N/A	N/A

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Entergy and Commerce Energy Group’s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Entergy	$12.15 billion	1.86	$2.36 billion	$9.97	10.64
Commerce Energy Group	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A

Entergy has higher revenue and earnings than Commerce Energy Group.

Risk & Volatility

Entergy has a beta of 0.73, suggesting that its stock price is 27% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Commerce Energy Group has a beta of 4.5, suggesting that its stock price is 350% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

88.1% of Entergy shares are held by institutional investors. 0.5% of Entergy shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 0.9% of Commerce Energy Group shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings for Entergy and Commerce Energy Group, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Entergy	1	3	9	0	2.62
Commerce Energy Group	0	0	0	0	N/A

Entergy currently has a consensus price target of $114.12, suggesting a potential upside of 7.61%.

Summary

Entergy beats Commerce Energy Group on 6 of the 8 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Entergy

Entergy Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the production and retail distribution of electricity in the United States. It generates, transmits, distributes, and sells electric power in portions of Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas, including the City of New Orleans; and distributes natural gas. It also engages in the ownership of interests in non-nuclear power plants that sell electric power to wholesale customers, as well as provides decommissioning services to other nuclear power plant owners. It generates electricity through gas, nuclear, coal, hydro, and solar power sources. The company sells energy to retail power providers, utilities, electric power co-operatives, power trading organizations, and other power generation companies. The company's power plants have approximately 24,000 megawatts of electric generating capacity. It delivers electricity to 3 million utility customers in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas. Entergy Corporation was founded in 1913 and is headquartered in New Orleans, Louisiana.

About Commerce Energy Group

Commerce Energy Group Inc. through its subsidiaries provides electric power and natural gas to residential, commercial, industrial and institutional customers in California, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Maryland, New Jersey, Texas, Florida, Georgia, Nevada, and Ohio. The company was founded in 1997 and is based in Costa Mesa, California.