Spruce Power (NYSE:SPRU – Get Free Report) and American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP – Get Free Report) are both computer and technology companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, institutional ownership, earnings, dividends, valuation, profitability and analyst recommendations.
Insider and Institutional Ownership
20.8% of Spruce Power shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 75.2% of American Electric Power shares are held by institutional investors. 9.6% of Spruce Power shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.1% of American Electric Power shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.
Risk & Volatility
Spruce Power has a beta of 1.15, meaning that its stock price is 15% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, American Electric Power has a beta of 0.56, meaning that its stock price is 44% less volatile than the S&P 500.
Earnings and Valuation
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Spruce Power | $77.58 million | 0.71 | -$65.83 million | ($5.06) | -0.58 |
| American Electric Power | $19.60 billion | 2.54 | $2.21 billion | $4.99 | 18.74 |
American Electric Power has higher revenue and earnings than Spruce Power. Spruce Power is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than American Electric Power, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Profitability
This table compares Spruce Power and American Electric Power’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Spruce Power | -121.98% | -23.98% | -5.48% |
| American Electric Power | 13.48% | 11.41% | 3.01% |
Analyst Ratings
This is a breakdown of recent recommendations for Spruce Power and American Electric Power, as provided by MarketBeat.com.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Spruce Power | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| American Electric Power | 2 | 8 | 4 | 0 | 2.14 |
American Electric Power has a consensus target price of $97.57, suggesting a potential upside of 4.34%. Given American Electric Power’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe American Electric Power is more favorable than Spruce Power.
Summary
American Electric Power beats Spruce Power on 12 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.
About Spruce Power
Spruce Power Holding Corporation owns and operates distributed solar energy assets in the United States. The company provides subscription-based services for homeowners and businesses to own and maintain rooftop solar and battery storage. It offers its subscription-based services to approximately 75,000 customers. The company is headquartered in Denver, Colorado.
About American Electric Power
American Electric Power Company, Inc., an electric public utility holding company, engages in the generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity for sale to retail and wholesale customers in the United States. It operates through Vertically Integrated Utilities, Transmission and Distribution Utilities, AEP Transmission Holdco, and Generation & Marketing segments. The company generates electricity using coal and lignite, natural gas, renewable, nuclear, hydro, solar, wind, and other energy sources. It also supplies and markets electric power at wholesale to other electric utility companies, rural electric cooperatives, municipalities, and other market participants. American Electric Power Company, Inc. was incorporated in 1906 and is headquartered in Columbus, Ohio.
Receive News & Ratings for Spruce Power Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Spruce Power and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
