Talen Energy (NASDAQ:TLN) versus Principal Solar (OTCMKTS:PSWW) Financial Review

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

Analyst Recommendations

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

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

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

Institutional and Insider Ownership

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

Earnings and Valuation

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

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

Talen Energy has higher revenue and earnings than Principal Solar.

Profitability

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

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

Volatility & Risk

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

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.