Fluence Energy (NASDAQ:FLNC – Get Free Report) and Central Puerto (NYSE:CEPU – Get Free Report) are both mid-cap energy companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, profitability, institutional ownership, risk, analyst recommendations, earnings and valuation.
Volatility & Risk
Fluence Energy has a beta of 2.62, indicating that its stock price is 162% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Central Puerto has a beta of 0.83, indicating that its stock price is 17% less volatile than the S&P 500.
Profitability
This table compares Fluence Energy and Central Puerto’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Fluence Energy | -1.62% | -8.29% | -1.85% |
| Central Puerto | 37.86% | 15.93% | 11.06% |
Analyst Recommendations
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Fluence Energy | 4 | 12 | 5 | 0 | 2.05 |
| Central Puerto | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2.50 |
Fluence Energy presently has a consensus target price of $19.47, indicating a potential downside of 8.85%. Central Puerto has a consensus target price of $17.50, indicating a potential upside of 15.12%. Given Central Puerto’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Central Puerto is more favorable than Fluence Energy.
Valuation & Earnings
This table compares Fluence Energy and Central Puerto”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Fluence Energy | $2.26 billion | 1.74 | -$48.31 million | ($0.36) | -59.33 |
| Central Puerto | $782.60 million | 2.94 | $277.08 million | $2.08 | 7.31 |
Central Puerto has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Fluence Energy. Fluence Energy is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Central Puerto, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Institutional and Insider Ownership
53.2% of Fluence Energy shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 3.0% of Central Puerto shares are held by institutional investors. 0.7% of Fluence Energy shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 0.1% of Central Puerto shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.
Summary
Central Puerto beats Fluence Energy on 9 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.
About Fluence Energy
Fluence Energy, Inc., through its subsidiaries, offers energy storage products and solution, services, and artificial intelligence enabled software-as-a-service products for renewables and storage applications in the Americas, the Asia Pacific, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. The company sells energy storage products with integrated hardware, software, and digital intelligence. Its energy storage products include Gridstack Pro, a large-scale front-of-the-meter application; Gridstack, a front-of-the-meter application; Sunstack, a DC-coupled energy storage product for DC-coupled solar + storage projects; Edgestack, for smaller-scale commercial and industrial use cases; and Ultrastack, for critical system requirements of distribution and transmission networks. The company also provides engineering and delivery services to support the deployment of its storage products; operational and maintenance services; and digital applications. It serves independent power producers, developer, utilities, and other generators. Fluence Energy, Inc. was founded in 2018 and is headquartered in Arlington, Virginia. Fluence Energy, Inc. is a joint venture of Siemens Aktiengesellschaft and The AES Corporation.
About Central Puerto
Central Puerto S.A. engages in the electric power generation in Argentina. It operates through three segments: Electric Power Generation from Conventional Sources, Electric Power Generation from Renewable Sources, and Natural Gas Transport and Distribution. The company generates energy through thermal, hydroelectric, and wind farms. It also engages in the natural gas transport and distribution business. Central Puerto S.A. was founded in 1898 and is based in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
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