Head-To-Head Contrast: Ballard Power Systems (NASDAQ:BLDP) vs. Avista (NYSE:AVA)

Ballard Power Systems (NASDAQ:BLDP) and Avista (NYSE:AVA) are both utilities companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, earnings, risk, profitability, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership and valuation.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current recommendations and price targets for Ballard Power Systems and Avista, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Ballard Power Systems	3	11	1	0	1.87
Avista	1	5	1	0	2.00

Ballard Power Systems presently has a consensus price target of $3.51, suggesting a potential downside of 21.16%. Avista has a consensus price target of $40.00, suggesting a potential downside of 0.93%. Given Avista’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Avista is more favorable than Ballard Power Systems.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

28.0% of Ballard Power Systems shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 85.2% of Avista shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.2% of Ballard Power Systems shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.8% of Avista shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Volatility and Risk

Ballard Power Systems has a beta of 1.94, suggesting that its share price is 94% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Avista has a beta of 0.24, suggesting that its share price is 76% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Ballard Power Systems and Avista’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Ballard Power Systems	-78.60%	-13.48%	-11.64%
Avista	10.75%	7.65%	2.50%

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Ballard Power Systems and Avista”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Ballard Power Systems	$99.40 million	13.50	-$90.91 million	($0.27)	-16.48
Avista	$1.96 billion	1.70	$193.00 million	$2.51	16.09

Avista has higher revenue and earnings than Ballard Power Systems. Ballard Power Systems is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Avista, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

Avista beats Ballard Power Systems on 11 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

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.

About Avista

Avista Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an electric and natural gas utility company. It operates in two segments, Avista Utilities and AEL&P. The Avista Utilities segment provides electric distribution and transmission, and natural gas distribution services in parts of eastern Washington and northern Idaho; and natural gas distribution services in parts of northeastern and southwestern Oregon, as well as generates electricity in Washington, Idaho, Oregon, and Montana. This segment also engages in the supply of electricity to customers in Montana; and wholesale purchase and sale of electricity and natural gas. The AEL&P segment offers electric services in Juneau, Alaska. The company generates electricity through hydroelectric, thermal, wind, and solar generation facilities. As of December 31, 2023, it supplied retail electric services to approximately 416,000 customers; and retail natural gas services to approximately 381,000 customers. The company also operates five hydroelectric generation facilities with capacity of 102.7 MW; and four diesel generating facilities with a capacity of 107.5 MW. It also engages in venture fund investments, real estate investments, and other investments. Avista Corporation was incorporated in 1889 and is headquartered in Spokane, Washington.