SPI Energy (NASDAQ:SPI) versus JinkoSolar (NYSE:JKS) Head to Head Comparison

SPI Energy (NASDAQ:SPI) and JinkoSolar (NYSE:JKS) are both small-cap oils/energy companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, earnings, risk, profitability, valuation and dividends.

Profitability

This table compares SPI Energy and JinkoSolar’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
SPI Energy	-11.77%	-167.64%	-9.56%
JinkoSolar	2.89%	11.85%	3.00%

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent recommendations and price targets for SPI Energy and JinkoSolar, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
SPI Energy	0	0	0	0	N/A
JinkoSolar	1	5	0	0	1.83

JinkoSolar has a consensus target price of $26.60, suggesting a potential upside of 23.32%. Given JinkoSolar’s higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe JinkoSolar is more favorable than SPI Energy.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

1.7% of SPI Energy shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 35.8% of JinkoSolar shares are held by institutional investors. 24.6% of SPI Energy shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 19.8% of JinkoSolar 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.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares SPI Energy and JinkoSolar’s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
SPI Energy	$177.52 million	0.09	-$33.42 million	($0.88)	-0.55
JinkoSolar	$16.72 billion	0.07	$485.56 million	$7.85	2.75

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

Volatility and Risk

SPI Energy has a beta of 0.66, suggesting that its share price is 34% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, JinkoSolar has a beta of 0.37, suggesting that its share price is 63% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

JinkoSolar beats SPI Energy on 8 of the 11 factors compared between the two stocks.

About SPI Energy

SPI Energy Co., Ltd. provides photovoltaic and electric vehicle (EV) solutions for business, residential, government, and utility customers and investors in Australia, Japan, Italy, the United States, the United Kingdom, and Greece. The company offers engineering, procurement, and construction services to independent power developers and producers, and commercial and industrial companies. It also develops, owns, and operates solar projects that sell electricity to power companies and other electricity off-takers, including government-owned utility companies. In addition, the company sells self-assembled solar modules, forklifts, pre-development solar projects, component and charging stations, as well as offers shipping, delivery, engineering, and maintenance services. As of April, 2022, it owned and operated 17.51 megawatts of solar projects. The company is headquartered in Sacramento, California.

About JinkoSolar

JinkoSolar Holding Co., Ltd., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the design, development, production, and marketing of photovoltaic products. The company offers solar modules, silicon wafers, solar cells, recovered silicon materials, and silicon ingots. It also provides solar system integration services; and develops commercial solar power projects. The company sells its products to distributors, project developers, system integrators, and manufacturers of solar power products under the JinkoSolar brand. As of December 31, 2022, it had an integrated annual capacity of 65 gigawatts (GW) for mono wafers; 55 GW for solar cells; and 70 GW for solar modules. The company has operations in the People's Republic of China, the United States, Mexico, Australia, Japan, United Arab Emirates, Turkey, Jordan, Vietnam, Egypt, Spain, and Germany. JinkoSolar Holding Co., Ltd. was founded in 2006 and is headquartered in Shangrao, the People's Republic of China.