First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) and Tower Semiconductor (NASDAQ:TSEM) are both mid-cap oils/energy companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, dividends, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, risk, earnings and profitability.
Institutional & Insider Ownership
67.7% of First Solar shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 54.5% of Tower Semiconductor shares are held by institutional investors. 0.5% of First Solar shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 1.0% of Tower Semiconductor shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.
Profitability
This table compares First Solar and Tower Semiconductor's net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets |
|---|
| First Solar | 6.38% | 9.49% | 6.95% |
| Tower Semiconductor | 5.87% | 5.35% | 3.75% |
Volatility & Risk
First Solar has a beta of 1.27, meaning that its share price is 27% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Tower Semiconductor has a beta of 1.37, meaning that its share price is 37% more volatile than the S&P 500.
Analyst Recommendations
This is a summary of recent ratings and price targets for First Solar and Tower Semiconductor, as provided by MarketBeat.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score |
|---|
| First Solar | 6 | 8 | 3 | 0 | 1.82 |
| Tower Semiconductor | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3.00 |
First Solar presently has a consensus price target of $90.6875, indicating a potential upside of 13.16%. Tower Semiconductor has a consensus price target of $37.50, indicating a potential upside of 27.42%. Given Tower Semiconductor's stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Tower Semiconductor is more favorable than First Solar.
Earnings & Valuation
This table compares First Solar and Tower Semiconductor's top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio |
|---|
| First Solar | $3.06 billion | 2.78 | $-114,930,000.00 | $1.48 | 54.15 |
| Tower Semiconductor | $1.23 billion | 2.55 | $90.05 million | $0.87 | 33.83 |
Tower Semiconductor has lower revenue, but higher earnings than First Solar. Tower Semiconductor is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than First Solar, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Summary
First Solar beats Tower Semiconductor on 7 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.
