Head-To-Head Analysis: GE Vernova (NYSE:GEV) versus Clearway Energy (NYSE:CWEN)

Clearway Energy (NYSE:CWEN) and GE Vernova (NYSE:GEV) are both energy companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, profitability, dividends, institutional ownership, valuation, analyst recommendations and risk.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings and recommmendations for Clearway Energy and GE Vernova, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Clearway Energy	0	3	5	1	2.78
GE Vernova	0	3	23	1	2.93

Clearway Energy currently has a consensus target price of $40.14, suggesting a potential upside of 1.64%. GE Vernova has a consensus target price of $831.29, suggesting a potential downside of 2.98%. Given Clearway Energy’s higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Clearway Energy is more favorable than GE Vernova.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

84.5% of Clearway Energy shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.9% of Clearway Energy shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.2% of GE Vernova shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Risk and Volatility

Clearway Energy has a beta of 0.95, indicating that its stock price is 5% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, GE Vernova has a beta of 1.45, indicating that its stock price is 45% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

Clearway Energy pays an annual dividend of $1.84 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.7%. GE Vernova pays an annual dividend of $2.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.2%. Clearway Energy pays out 129.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. GE Vernova pays out 11.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Clearway Energy has raised its dividend for 2 consecutive years. Clearway Energy is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Clearway Energy and GE Vernova”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Clearway Energy	$1.43 billion	5.67	$169.00 million	$1.42	27.81
GE Vernova	$38.07 billion	6.07	$4.88 billion	$17.80	48.14

GE Vernova has higher revenue and earnings than Clearway Energy. Clearway Energy is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than GE Vernova, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares Clearway Energy and GE Vernova’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Clearway Energy	11.83%	3.01%	1.07%
GE Vernova	12.83%	46.91%	8.80%

Summary

GE Vernova beats Clearway Energy on 12 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Clearway Energy

Clearway Energy, Inc. operates in the renewable energy business in the United States. The company operates through Conventional and Renewables segments. It has approximately 6,000 net MW of installed wind, solar, and energy generation projects; and approximately 2,500 net MW of natural gas-fired generation facilities. The company was formerly known as NRG Yield, Inc. and changed its name to Clearway Energy, Inc. in August 2018. Clearway Energy, Inc. was incorporated in 2012 and is based in Princeton, New Jersey. Clearway Energy, Inc. is a subsidiary of Clearway Energy Group LLC.

About GE Vernova

GE Vernova LLC, an energy business company, generates electricity. It operates under three segments: Power, Wind, and Electrification. The Power segments generates and sells electricity through hydro, gas, nuclear, and steam power. Wind segment engages in the manufacturing and sale of wind turbine blades; and Electrification segment provides grid solutions, power conversion, solar, and storage solutions. The company was incorporated in 2023 and is based in Cambridge, Massachusetts.