Financial Survey: IDACORP (NYSE:IDA) vs. Summer Energy (OTCMKTS:SUME)

IDACORP (NYSE:IDA) and Summer Energy (OTCMKTS:SUME) are both utilities companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, dividends, profitability, earnings, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership and valuation.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

89.1% of IDACORP shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.5% of IDACORP shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 56.8% of Summer Energy shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares IDACORP and Summer Energy’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
IDACORP	15.04%	9.16%	3.25%
Summer Energy	N/A	N/A	N/A

Risk & Volatility

IDACORP has a beta of 0.6, meaning that its share price is 40% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Summer Energy has a beta of -123.51, meaning that its share price is 12,451% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and price targets for IDACORP and Summer Energy, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
IDACORP	0	6	0	0	2.00
Summer Energy	0	0	0	0	N/A

IDACORP presently has a consensus target price of $101.50, suggesting a potential downside of 2.86%. Given IDACORP’s higher probable upside, research analysts plainly believe IDACORP is more favorable than Summer Energy.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares IDACORP and Summer Energy”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
IDACORP	$1.82 billion	3.05	$261.20 million	$4.98	20.98
Summer Energy	$239.88 million	0.06	$13.74 million	N/A	N/A

IDACORP has higher revenue and earnings than Summer Energy.

Summary

IDACORP beats Summer Energy on 9 of the 10 factors compared between the two stocks.

About IDACORP

IDACORP, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the generation, transmission, distribution, purchase, and sale of electric energy in the United States. The company operates 17 hydropower generating plants located in southern Idaho and eastern Oregon; three natural gas-fired plants in southern Idaho; and interests in two coal-fired steam electric generating plants located in Wyoming and Nevada. As of December 31, 2023, it had approximately 4,762 pole-miles of high-voltage transmission lines; 23 step-up transmission substations located at power plants; 21 transmission substations; 11 switching stations; 30 mixed-use transmission and distribution substations; 186 energized distribution substations; and 29,714 pole-miles of distribution lines, and 131 MW of battery storage, as well as provides electric utility services to approximately 633,000 retail customers in southern Idaho and eastern Oregon. The company serves commercial and industrial customers, which involved in food processing, electronics and general manufacturing, agriculture, health care, government, and education. It also invests in housing and other real estate tax credit investments. IDACORP, Inc. was founded in 1915 and is headquartered in Boise, Idaho.

About Summer Energy

Summer Energy Holdings, Inc., through its subsidiaries, operates as a retail electric provider in Texas, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Ohio, and Illinois. It procures wholesale energy and resells to commercial and residential customers. The company was founded in 2011 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas.