Reviewing Algonquin Power & Utilities (NYSE:AQN) and Hallador Energy (NASDAQ:HNRG)

Algonquin Power & Utilities (NYSE:AQN) and Hallador Energy (NASDAQ:HNRG) are both utilities companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, risk, dividends, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, profitability and earnings.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings and recommmendations for Algonquin Power & Utilities and Hallador Energy, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Algonquin Power & Utilities	0	9	1	1	2.27
Hallador Energy	0	0	1	0	3.00

Algonquin Power & Utilities presently has a consensus target price of $6.25, suggesting a potential upside of 20.66%. Hallador Energy has a consensus target price of $9.00, suggesting a potential downside of 12.54%. Given Algonquin Power & Utilities’ higher probable upside, equities research analysts plainly believe Algonquin Power & Utilities is more favorable than Hallador Energy.

Profitability

This table compares Algonquin Power & Utilities and Hallador Energy’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Algonquin Power & Utilities	4.70%	5.36%	1.93%
Hallador Energy	-1.25%	-1.48%	-0.72%

Volatility and Risk

Algonquin Power & Utilities has a beta of 0.66, suggesting that its stock price is 34% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Hallador Energy has a beta of 0.62, suggesting that its stock price is 38% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Algonquin Power & Utilities and Hallador Energy”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Algonquin Power & Utilities	$2.63 billion	1.51	$28.67 million	($0.49)	-10.57
Hallador Energy	$485.54 million	0.78	$44.79 million	$0.59	17.44

Hallador Energy has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Algonquin Power & Utilities. Algonquin Power & Utilities 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 and Institutional Ownership

62.3% of Algonquin Power & Utilities shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 61.4% of Hallador Energy shares are held by institutional investors. 0.1% of Algonquin Power & Utilities shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 32.3% of Hallador Energy shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Dividends

Algonquin Power & Utilities pays an annual dividend of $0.26 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.0%. Hallador Energy pays an annual dividend of $0.16 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.6%. Algonquin Power & Utilities pays out -53.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Hallador Energy pays out 27.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Algonquin Power & Utilities is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Summary

Algonquin Power & Utilities beats Hallador Energy on 11 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Algonquin Power & Utilities

Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. operates in the power and utility industries in the United States, Canada, and other regions. The company operates in two segments, Regulated Services Group and Renewable Energy Group. The company primarily owns and operates a regulated electric, water distribution and wastewater collection, and natural gas utility systems and transmission operations. As of December 31, 2023, it provided distribution services to approximately 1,256,000 customer connections in the electric (approximately 309,000 customer connections), water and wastewater (approximately 572,000 customer connections), and natural gas sectors (approximately 375,000 customer connections). The company's electrical distribution utility systems and related transmission and generation assets are located in the states of Arkansas, California, Kansas, Missouri, Nevada, New Hampshire, and Oklahoma, and in Bermuda. Its regulated water distribution and wastewater collection utility systems are located in the states of Arizona, Arkansas, California, Illinois, Missouri, New York and Texas, and in Chile. The company's regulated natural gas distribution utility systems located in the province of New Brunswick and the states of Georgia, Illinois, Iowa, Massachusetts, Missouri, New Hampshire and New York. It also owns and operates generating assets with a gross capacity of approximately 2.0 gigawatt (GW) and has investments in generating assets with approximately 0.3 GW of net generation capacity. The company generates and sells electrical energy, capacity, ancillary products, and renewable attributes produced by its renewable and clean power generation facilities. It has economic interests in hydroelectric, wind, solar, renewable natural gas, and thermal facilities. As of December 31, 2023, it had a combined net generating capacity attributable to the Renewable Energy Group of approximately 2.7 GW. The company was incorporated in 1988 and is headquartered in Oakville, Canada.

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.