Oklo (NYSE:OKLO) & NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG) Critical Comparison

Oklo (NYSE:OKLO) and NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG) are both oils/energy companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, profitability, institutional ownership, risk, analyst recommendations, earnings and valuation.

Volatility & Risk

Oklo has a beta of -0.51, indicating that its stock price is 151% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, NRG Energy has a beta of 1.15, indicating that its stock price is 15% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Oklo and NRG Energy”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Oklo	N/A	N/A	$11.87 million	N/A	N/A
NRG Energy	$28.82 billion	0.72	-$202.00 million	$3.98	25.79

Oklo has higher earnings, but lower revenue than NRG Energy.

Profitability

This table compares Oklo and NRG Energy’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Oklo	N/A	-32.11%	-13.72%
NRG Energy	3.43%	48.96%	4.73%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings for Oklo and NRG Energy, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Oklo	0	2	3	0	2.60
NRG Energy	0	2	5	0	2.71

Oklo presently has a consensus target price of $32.50, indicating a potential downside of 22.13%. NRG Energy has a consensus target price of $111.43, indicating a potential upside of 8.56%. Given NRG Energy’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe NRG Energy is more favorable than Oklo.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

85.0% of Oklo shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 97.7% of NRG Energy shares are held by institutional investors. 21.8% of Oklo shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 0.9% of NRG Energy shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

NRG Energy beats Oklo on 9 of the 11 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Oklo

Oklo Inc. designs and develops fission power plants to provide reliable and commercial-scale energy to customers in the United States. It also provides used nuclear fuel recycling services. The company was founded in 2013 and is based in Santa Clara, California.

About NRG Energy

NRG Energy, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates as an energy and home services company in the United States and Canada. It operates through Texas; East; West/Services/Other; Vivint Smart Home; and Corporate Activities segments. The company produces and sells electricity generated using coal, oil, solar, and battery storage; natural gas; and a cloud-based home platform, including hardware, software, sales, installation, customer service, technical support, and professional monitoring solutions. It offers retail electricity and energy management, line and surge protection products, HVAC installation, repair and maintenance, home protection products, carbon offsets, back-up power stations, portable power, portable solar, and portable lighting; retail services comprising demand response, commodity sales, energy efficiency, and energy management solutions; and system power, distributed generation, renewable and low-carbon products, carbon management and specialty services, backup generation, storage and distributed solar, and energy advisory services. In addition, the company trades in power, natural gas, and related commodities; environmental products; weather products; and financial products, including forwards, futures, options, and swaps. It offers its products and services under the NRG, Reliant, Direct Energy, Green Mountain Energy, and Vivint. It serves residential, commercial, government, industrial, and wholesale customers. NRG Energy, Inc. was founded in 1989 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas.