Head to Head Survey: TransAlta (NYSE:TAC) vs. Spruce Power (NYSE:SPRU)

Spruce Power (NYSE:SPRU) and TransAlta (NYSE:TAC) are both computer and technology companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their risk, dividends, institutional ownership, earnings, analyst recommendations, profitability and valuation.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings for Spruce Power and TransAlta, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Spruce Power	0	0	0	0	N/A
TransAlta	0	0	1	0	3.00

Profitability

This table compares Spruce Power and TransAlta’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Spruce Power	-61.34%	-7.07%	-1.83%
TransAlta	18.70%	45.47%	5.94%

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Spruce Power and TransAlta’s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Spruce Power	$80.05 million	0.82	-$65.83 million	($2.68)	-1.34
TransAlta	$2.49 billion	0.86	$514.86 million	$1.55	4.57

TransAlta has higher revenue and earnings than Spruce Power. Spruce Power is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than TransAlta, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Risk and Volatility

Spruce Power has a beta of 1.2, meaning that its stock price is 20% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, TransAlta has a beta of 0.87, meaning that its stock price is 13% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

20.8% of Spruce Power shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 59.0% of TransAlta shares are owned by institutional investors. 9.5% of Spruce Power shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 13.1% of TransAlta shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

TransAlta beats Spruce Power on 11 of the 12 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Spruce Power

Spruce Power Holding Corporation owns and operates distributed solar energy assets in the United States. The company provides subscription-based services for homeowners and businesses to own and maintain rooftop solar and battery storage. It offers its subscription-based services to approximately 75,000 customers. The company is headquartered in Denver, Colorado.

About TransAlta

TransAlta Corporation engages in the development, production, and sale of electric energy. It operates through Hydro, Wind and Solar, Gas, Energy Transition, and Energy Marketing segments. The Hydro segment holds interest of approximately 922 megawatts (MW) of owned hydroelectric generating capacity located in Alberta, British Columbia, and Ontario. The Wind and Solar segment has a net ownership interest of approximately 2,057 MW of owned wind and solar electrical-generating capacity, as well as battery storage facilities located in Alberta, Ontario, New Brunswick, and Québec in Canada; the states of Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Washington, and Wyoming in the United States; and the state of Western Australia. The Gas segment has a net ownership interest of approximately 2,775 MW of owned gas electrical-generating capacity, and facilities located in Alberta, Ontario, Michigan, and the state of Western Australia. The Energy Transition segment has a net ownership interest of approximately 671 MW of owned coal electrical-generating capacity, as well as operates the Skookumchuck hydro facility in Centralia; and engages in the highvale mine and the mine reclamation activities. The Energy Marketing segment is involved in the trading of power, natural gas, and environmental products. It serves customers in various industry segments, including commercial real estate, municipal, manufacturing, industrial, hospitality, finance, and oil and gas. TransAlta Corporation was founded in 1909 and is headquartered in Calgary, Canada.