Hallador Energy (NASDAQ:HNRG) vs. Entergy (NYSE:ETR) Critical Survey

Hallador Energy (NASDAQ:HNRG) and Entergy (NYSE:ETR) are both oils/energy companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, dividends, analyst recommendations, risk, profitability, institutional ownership and earnings.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Hallador Energy and Entergy”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Hallador Energy	$485.54 million	0.74	$44.79 million	$0.59	16.44
Entergy	$12.07 billion	2.32	$2.36 billion	$9.97	13.15

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

Volatility and Risk

Hallador Energy has a beta of 0.59, suggesting that its stock price is 41% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Entergy has a beta of 0.73, suggesting that its stock price is 27% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current recommendations and price targets for Hallador Energy and Entergy, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Hallador Energy	0	0	1	0	3.00
Entergy	1	2	10	1	2.79

Hallador Energy currently has a consensus target price of $9.00, suggesting a potential downside of 7.22%. Entergy has a consensus target price of $127.81, suggesting a potential downside of 2.53%. Given Entergy’s higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Entergy is more favorable than Hallador Energy.

Profitability

This table compares Hallador Energy and Entergy’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Hallador Energy	-1.25%	-1.48%	-0.72%
Entergy	14.75%	10.10%	2.37%

Institutional and Insider Ownership

61.4% of Hallador Energy shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 88.1% of Entergy shares are held by institutional investors. 32.3% of Hallador Energy shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.4% of Entergy shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Dividends

Hallador Energy pays an annual dividend of $0.16 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.6%. Entergy pays an annual dividend of $4.52 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.4%. Hallador Energy pays out 27.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Entergy pays out 45.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years.

Summary

Entergy beats Hallador Energy on 13 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Hallador Energy

Hallador Energy Company, through its subsidiaries, engages in the production of steam coal in the State of Indiana for the electric power generation industry. The company owns the Oaktown Mine 1 and Oaktown Mine 2 underground mines in Oaktown; Freelandville Center Pit surface mine in Freelandville; and Prosperity Surface mine in Petersburg, Indiana. It is also involved in gas exploration activities in Indiana; and operation of logistics transport facility. Hallador Energy Company was founded in 1949 and is headquartered in Terre Haute, Indiana.

About Entergy

Entergy Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the production and retail distribution of electricity in the United States. It generates, transmits, distributes, and sells electric power in portions of Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas, including the City of New Orleans; and distributes natural gas. It also engages in the ownership of interests in non-nuclear power plants that sell electric power to wholesale customers, as well as provides decommissioning services to other nuclear power plant owners. It generates electricity through gas, nuclear, coal, hydro, and solar power sources. The company sells energy to retail power providers, utilities, electric power co-operatives, power trading organizations, and other power generation companies. The company’s power plants have approximately 24,000 megawatts of electric generating capacity. It delivers electricity to 3 million utility customers in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas. Entergy Corporation was founded in 1913 and is headquartered in New Orleans, Louisiana.