Critical Review: Neoen (OTCMKTS:NOSPF) & Hallador Energy (NASDAQ:HNRG)

Hallador Energy (NASDAQ:HNRG) and Neoen (OTCMKTS:NOSPF) are both utilities companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, valuation, profitability, earnings, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations and risk.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Hallador Energy and Neoen”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Hallador Energy	$454.91 million	1.72	$41.87 million	$0.02	830.00
Neoen	N/A	N/A	N/A	$41.46	1.01

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

Insider & Institutional Ownership

61.4% of Hallador Energy shares are owned by institutional investors. 17.4% of Hallador Energy shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares Hallador Energy and Neoen’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Hallador Energy	-0.20%	-0.52%	-0.21%
Neoen	N/A	N/A	N/A

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and price targets for Hallador Energy and Neoen, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Hallador Energy	2	0	2	2	2.67
Neoen	0	0	0	0	0.00

Hallador Energy currently has a consensus target price of $25.12, indicating a potential upside of 51.36%. Given Hallador Energy’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities research analysts clearly believe Hallador Energy is more favorable than Neoen.

Dividends

Hallador Energy pays an annual dividend of $0.16 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.0%. Neoen pays an annual dividend of $9.56 per share and has a dividend yield of 22.8%. Hallador Energy pays out 800.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Neoen pays out 23.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Neoen is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Summary

Hallador Energy beats Neoen on 8 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Hallador Energy

Hallador Energy Company, through its subsidiaries, engages in the production of steam coal in the State of Indiana for the electric power generation industry. The company owns the Oaktown Mine 1 and Oaktown Mine 2 underground mines in Oaktown; Freelandville Center Pit surface mine in Freelandville; and Prosperity Surface mine in Petersburg, Indiana. It is also involved in gas exploration activities in Indiana; and operation of logistics transport facility. Hallador Energy Company was founded in 1949 and is headquartered in Terre Haute, Indiana.

About Neoen

Neoen S.A., an independent renewable energy production company, engages in the development and operation of renewable energy power plants. The company operates through Solar Power, Wind Power, Storage, Farm-Down, Development and Investments, and Eliminations segments. It operates in Argentina, Australia, Canada, Ecuador, the United States, Finland, France, Ireland, Italy, Jamaica, Mexico, Mozambique, Portugal, El Salvador, Sweden, and Zambia. Neoen S.A. was incorporated in 2008 and is headquartered in Paris, France.