Head to Head Review: Gevo (NASDAQ:GEVO) & Lightbridge (NASDAQ:LTBR)

Lightbridge (NASDAQ:LTBR) and Gevo (NASDAQ:GEVO) are both small-cap energy companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their risk, profitability, earnings, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, valuation and dividends.

Risk & Volatility

Lightbridge has a beta of 1.94, indicating that its share price is 94% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Gevo has a beta of 1.49, indicating that its share price is 49% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Lightbridge and Gevo”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Lightbridge	N/A	N/A	-$11.79 million	($0.80)	-18.68
Gevo	$16.92 million	27.35	-$78.64 million	($0.20)	-9.55

Lightbridge has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Gevo. Lightbridge is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Gevo, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and target prices for Lightbridge and Gevo, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Lightbridge	1	0	0	0	1.00
Gevo	1	2	2	0	2.20

Gevo has a consensus target price of $6.42, indicating a potential upside of 235.95%. Given Gevo’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Gevo is more favorable than Lightbridge.

Profitability

This table compares Lightbridge and Gevo’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Lightbridge	N/A	-18.71%	-18.49%
Gevo	-37.33%	-9.49%	-6.82%

Institutional & Insider Ownership

9.1% of Lightbridge shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 35.2% of Gevo shares are held by institutional investors. 6.5% of Lightbridge shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 6.8% of Gevo shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Gevo beats Lightbridge on 10 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Lightbridge

Lightbridge Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in developing nuclear fuel technology. It develops and commercializes metallic nuclear fuels. The company was formerly known as Thorium Power, Ltd. and changed its name to Lightbridge Corporation in September 2009. Lightbridge Corporation is headquartered in Reston, Virginia.

About Gevo

Gevo, Inc. operates as a carbon abatement company. It operates through three segments: Gevo, Agri-Energy, and Renewable Natural Gas. The company focuses on transforming renewable energy into energy-dense liquid hydrocarbons that can be used as renewable fuels. It offers renewable gasoline and diesel, isobutanol, sustainable aviation fuel, renewable natural gas, isobutylene, ethanol, and animal feed and protein. The company was formerly known as Methanotech, Inc. and changed its name to Gevo, Inc. in March 2006. Gevo, Inc. was incorporated in 2005 and is headquartered in Englewood, Colorado.