Ballard Power Systems (NASDAQ:BLDP) & Commerce Energy Group (OTCMKTS:CMNR) Head-To-Head Review

Commerce Energy Group (OTCMKTS:CMNR) and Ballard Power Systems (NASDAQ:BLDP) are both utilities companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, valuation, risk, earnings, profitability, institutional ownership and analyst recommendations.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings for Commerce Energy Group and Ballard Power Systems, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Commerce Energy Group	0	0	0	0	0.00
Ballard Power Systems	4	14	0	0	1.78

Ballard Power Systems has a consensus target price of $2.23, suggesting a potential downside of 20.01%. Given Commerce Energy Group’s higher possible upside, equities research analysts plainly believe Commerce Energy Group is more favorable than Ballard Power Systems.

Risk & Volatility

Commerce Energy Group has a beta of 17.55, meaning that its stock price is 1,655% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Ballard Power Systems has a beta of 1.65, meaning that its stock price is 65% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Commerce Energy Group and Ballard Power Systems’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Commerce Energy Group	N/A	N/A	N/A
Ballard Power Systems	-132.80%	-17.89%	-15.43%

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Commerce Energy Group and Ballard Power Systems”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Commerce Energy Group	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Ballard Power Systems	$69.73 million	12.03	-$324.24 million	($0.40)	-6.98

Commerce Energy Group has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Ballard Power Systems.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

28.0% of Ballard Power Systems shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.9% of Commerce Energy Group shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.2% of Ballard Power Systems shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

Commerce Energy Group beats Ballard Power Systems on 6 of the 9 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Commerce Energy Group

Commerce Energy Group Inc. through its subsidiaries provides electric power and natural gas to residential, commercial, industrial and institutional customers in California, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Maryland, New Jersey, Texas, Florida, Georgia, Nevada, and Ohio. The company was founded in 1997 and is based in Costa Mesa, California.

About Ballard Power Systems

Ballard Power Systems Inc. engages in the design, development, manufacture, sale, and service of proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell products. The company offers its products for power product comprising for bus, truck, rail, marine, stationary, and emerging market, such as material handling, off-road, and other applications. It also engages in the delivery of services, including technology solutions, after sales services, and training; and provision of engineering services, product and systems integration services, and related technology transfer for a variety of PEM fuel cell applications. It operates in the United States, Germany, Canada, China, Poland, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, France, Denmark, Belgium, India, Taiwan, Spain, Norway, Australia, Japan, and internationally. The company has a strategic alliance with Linamar Corporation for the co-development and sale of fuel cell powertrains and components for class 1 and 2 vehicles in North America and Europe. Ballard Power Systems Inc. was founded in 1979 and is headquartered in Burnaby, Canada.