Reviewing Alternus Clean Energy (NASDAQ:ALCE) & ALLETE (NYSE:ALE)

ALLETE (NYSE:ALE) and Alternus Clean Energy (NASDAQ:ALCE) are both utilities companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, analyst recommendations, risk, institutional ownership, earnings, valuation and profitability.

Profitability

This table compares ALLETE and Alternus Clean Energy’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
ALLETE	14.36%	7.07%	3.62%
Alternus Clean Energy	N/A	N/A	N/A

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares ALLETE and Alternus Clean Energy”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
ALLETE	$1.54 billion	2.39	$247.10 million	$4.16	15.31
Alternus Clean Energy	$16.25 million	0.98	-$69.46 million	N/A	N/A

ALLETE has higher revenue and earnings than Alternus Clean Energy.

Volatility and Risk

ALLETE has a beta of 0.8, meaning that its stock price is 20% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Alternus Clean Energy has a beta of -0.63, meaning that its stock price is 163% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent recommendations for ALLETE and Alternus Clean Energy, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
ALLETE	0	4	0	0	2.00
Alternus Clean Energy	0	0	0	0	N/A

ALLETE currently has a consensus target price of $62.00, suggesting a potential downside of 2.65%. Given ALLETE’s higher probable upside, equities analysts plainly believe ALLETE is more favorable than Alternus Clean Energy.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

76.6% of ALLETE shares are held by institutional investors. 0.2% of ALLETE shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 24.3% of Alternus Clean Energy shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

ALLETE beats Alternus Clean Energy on 9 of the 10 factors compared between the two stocks.

About ALLETE

ALLETE, Inc. operates as an energy company. The company operates through Regulated Operations, ALLETE Clean Energy, and Corporate and Other segments. It generates electricity from coal-fired, biomass co-fired / natural gas, hydroelectric, wind, and solar. In addition, the company provides regulated utility electric services in northwestern Wisconsin to approximately 15,000 electric customers, 13,000 natural gas customers, and 10,000 water customers, as well as regulated utility electric services in northeastern Minnesota to approximately 150,000 retail customers and 14 non-affiliated municipal customers. Further, it owns and maintains electric transmission assets in Wisconsin, Michigan, Minnesota, and Illinois. Additionally, the company focuses on developing, acquiring, and operating clean and renewable energy projects; and owns and operates approximately 1,200 megawatts of wind energy generation facility, as well as involved in the coal mining operations in North Dakota; and real estate investment activities in Florida. It owns and operates 162 substations with a total capacity of 9,980 megavolt amperes. The company serves taconite mining, paper, pulp and secondary wood products, pipeline, and other industries. The company was formerly known as Minnesota Power, Inc. and changed its name to ALLETE, Inc. in May 2001. ALLETE, Inc. was incorporated in 1906 and is headquartered in Duluth, Minnesota.

About Alternus Clean Energy

Alternus Energy Group Plc operates as an international vertically integrated independent power producer. It owns, develops, installs, and operates midsized utility scale solar parks. The company was incorporated in 2019 and is headquartered in Dublin, Ireland.