Contrasting Talen Energy (NASDAQ:TLN) and Hoku (OTCMKTS:HOKUQ)

Hoku (OTCMKTS:HOKUQ) and Talen Energy (NASDAQ:TLN) are both energy companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, earnings, risk, dividends, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations and profitability.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings and recommmendations for Hoku and Talen Energy, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Hoku	0	0	0	0	0.00
Talen Energy	0	4	10	0	2.71

Talen Energy has a consensus target price of $475.08, indicating a potential upside of 27.58%. Given Talen Energy’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Talen Energy is more favorable than Hoku.

Earnings & Valuation

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

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Hoku	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Talen Energy	$3.24 billion	5.51	-$219.00 million	($0.67)	-555.78

Hoku has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Talen Energy.

Volatility & Risk

Hoku has a beta of -1.12, suggesting that its share price is 212% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Talen Energy has a beta of 1.82, suggesting that its share price is 82% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

0.4% of Talen Energy shares are owned by institutional investors. 2.2% of Hoku shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 0.8% of Talen Energy shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Hoku	N/A	N/A	N/A
Talen Energy	-0.63%	41.58%	6.00%

Summary

Talen Energy beats Hoku on 8 of the 10 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Hoku

Hoku Corporation operates as a solar energy products and services company primarily in the United States. It focuses on manufacturing polysilicon, a primary material used in the manufacture of photovoltaic (PV) modules; and designing, engineering, and installing turnkey PV systems and related services in Hawaii using solar modules purchased from third-party suppliers. The company was formerly known as Hoku Scientific, Inc. and changed its name to Hoku Corporation in March 2010. Hoku Corporation was incorporated in 2001 and is headquartered in Honolulu, Hawaii. On July 2, 2013, Hoku Corporation along with its affiliates filed a voluntary petition for liquidation under Chapter 7 in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Idaho.

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.