Over the past three months, one of the top performers in the S&P 500 index has been the Electric Utilities industry, up 19.5%.
Some of the largest companies in the industry (by market capitalization): Duke Energy ($80.1B), a utility company that supplies electricity and natural gas to about 8 million customers in the US, and Constellation Energy ($68.1B), a utility company that supplies electricity to 16 million customers in the US and 75 Fortune 100 companies.
According to the latest quarterly reporting data, we analyzed each company’s profitability, strength, and efficiency criteria using the methodology of Stanford University professor Joseph Piotroski.
As we can see, both companies perform mediocre in terms of fundamentals. Constellation Energy shows stronger results in terms of sustainability and efficiency, while Duke Energy is better in terms of profitability.
Over the past 3 months, Duke Energy stock has risen by +13.0%, and Constellation Energy by +62.4% (the S&P 500 index is up +5.9%). Constellation Energy has outperformed its closest competitor and demonstrated better results compared to the index.
So, the winner in today’s battle is Constellation Energy (CEG). Although Duke Energy is superior in terms of change in return on assets, Constellation Energy’s business looks healthier in terms of financing and operating margin, and its stock shows better returns.
* This is not an investment recommendation. It is up to each individual to decide which criteria to favor when making an investment decision, taking into account their goals and individual risk tolerance.
