SolarBank (NASDAQ:SUUN) vs. NorthWestern Energy Group (NYSE:NWE) Head to Head Survey

SolarBank (NASDAQ:SUUN) and NorthWestern Energy Group (NYSE:NWE) are both energy companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, institutional ownership, valuation, earnings, analyst recommendations, profitability and risk.

Profitability

This table compares SolarBank and NorthWestern Energy Group’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
SolarBank	-10.64%	-15.19%	-6.41%
NorthWestern Energy Group	14.81%	7.40%	2.68%

Valuation and Earnings

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

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
SolarBank	$52.15 million	1.25	-$2.56 million	($0.22)	-9.18
NorthWestern Energy Group	$1.51 billion	2.29	$224.11 million	$3.84	14.62

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

Institutional & Insider Ownership

96.1% of NorthWestern Energy Group shares are held by institutional investors. 0.9% of NorthWestern Energy Group shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings for SolarBank and NorthWestern Energy Group, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
SolarBank	0	0	2	0	3.00
NorthWestern Energy Group	0	2	5	0	2.71

SolarBank currently has a consensus target price of $6.00, indicating a potential upside of 197.03%. NorthWestern Energy Group has a consensus target price of $60.25, indicating a potential upside of 7.32%. Given SolarBank’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, research analysts clearly believe SolarBank is more favorable than NorthWestern Energy Group.

Summary

NorthWestern Energy Group beats SolarBank on 11 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About SolarBank

SolarBank Corporation operates as an independent renewable and clean energy project developer and asset operator in Canada and the United States. The company engages in the site origination, development, financing, engineering, procurement, construction, operation, maintenance, and asset management of solar photovoltaic power generation projects. It offers solar energy solutions in the areas of behind-the-meter solar power plants, electricity grid connected community solar gardens, and utility scale solar farms. The company was formerly known as Abundant Solar Energy Inc. and changed its name to SolarBank Corporation in October 2022. SolarBank Corporation was incorporated in 2013 and is headquartered in Toronto, Canada.

About NorthWestern Energy Group

NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. provides electricity and natural gas to residential, commercial, and various industrial customers. It generates, purchases, transmits, and distributes electricity; and produces, purchases, stores, transmits, and distributes natural gas, as well as owns municipal franchises to provide natural gas service in the communities. The company operates 6,600 miles of electric transmission and 18,674 miles of electric distribution lines with approximately 395 transmission and distribution substations; and 2,235 miles of natural gas transmission and 5,155 miles of natural gas distribution lines with approximately 133 city gate stations in Montana. It also operates 1,310 miles of electric transmission and 2,365 miles of electric distribution lines in South Dakota with approximately 124 transmission and distribution substations; and 55 miles of natural gas transmission and 2,573 miles of natural gas distribution lines in South Dakota and Nebraska. The company provides electricity and/or natural gas to approximately 775,300 customers in Montana, South Dakota, Nebraska, and Yellowstone National Park. NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. was founded in 1923 and is based in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.