Southern (NYSE:SO – Get Free Report) and Talen Energy (OTCMKTS:TLNE – Get Free Report) are both utilities companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, valuation, institutional ownership, dividends, analyst recommendations, risk and earnings.
Profitability
This table compares Southern and Talen Energy’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Southern | 17.67% | 12.88% | 3.27% |
| Talen Energy | N/A | 1.87% | 0.67% |
Analyst Recommendations
This is a summary of current ratings and target prices for Southern and Talen Energy, as provided by MarketBeat.com.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Southern | 1 | 6 | 7 | 0 | 2.43 |
| Talen Energy | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3.00 |
Earnings & Valuation
This table compares Southern and Talen Energy’s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Southern | $25.25 billion | 3.76 | $3.98 billion | $3.87 | 22.43 |
| Talen Energy | $2.55 billion | 0.00 | $613.00 million | N/A | N/A |
Southern has higher revenue and earnings than Talen Energy.
Insider & Institutional Ownership
64.1% of Southern shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 0.4% of Talen Energy shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.2% of Southern shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.
Summary
Southern beats Talen Energy on 8 of the 10 factors compared between the two stocks.
About Southern
The Southern Company, through its subsidiaries, engages in the generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity. The company also develops, constructs, acquires, owns, and manages power generation assets, including renewable energy projects and sells electricity in the wholesale market; and distributes natural gas in Illinois, Georgia, Virginia, and Tennessee, as well as provides gas marketing services, gas distribution operations, and gas pipeline investments operations. In addition, it owns and operates nuclear, coal, hydro, cogeneration, solar, wind, battery storage, and fuel cell facilities. Further, the constructs, operates, and maintains approximately 77,900 miles of natural gas pipelines and 14 storage facilities with total capacity of 157 Bcf to provide natural gas to residential, commercial, and industrial customers. The company serves approximately 8.9 million electric and gas utility customers. Further, it develops distributed energy and resilience solutions; deploys microgrids for commercial, industrial, governmental, and utility customers; and offers digital wireless communications and fiber optics services. The Southern Company was incorporated in 1945 and is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia.
About Talen Energy
Talen Energy Corporation, an independent power producer and infrastructure company, produces and sells electricity, capacity, and ancillary services into wholesale power markets in the United States. The company operates nuclear, fossil, solar, and coal power plants. It is also developing battery storage projects. The company owns and operates approximately 10.7 GW of power infrastructure. Talen Energy Corporation is headquartered in Houston, Texas.
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