Ameren (NYSE:AEE) versus Empresa Distribuidora Y Comercializadora Norte S.A. (Edenor) (NYSE:EDN) Financial Analysis

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) and Empresa Distribuidora Y Comercializadora Norte S.A. (Edenor) (NYSE:EDN) are both utilities companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, valuation, analyst recommendations, profitability, dividends, earnings and risk.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and recommmendations for Ameren and Empresa Distribuidora Y Comercializadora Norte S.A. (Edenor), as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Ameren	0	5	7	1	2.69
Empresa Distribuidora Y Comercializadora Norte S.A. (Edenor)	0	0	0	0	0.00

Ameren currently has a consensus target price of $101.3636, indicating a potential downside of 1.89%. Given Ameren’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities analysts clearly believe Ameren is more favorable than Empresa Distribuidora Y Comercializadora Norte S.A. (Edenor).

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Ameren and Empresa Distribuidora Y Comercializadora Norte S.A. (Edenor)”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Ameren	$7.62 billion	3.66	$1.18 billion	$4.55	22.71
Empresa Distribuidora Y Comercializadora Norte S.A. (Edenor)	$2.24 billion	0.59	$299.34 million	$5.63	5.15

Ameren has higher revenue and earnings than Empresa Distribuidora Y Comercializadora Norte S.A. (Edenor). Empresa Distribuidora Y Comercializadora Norte S.A. (Edenor) is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Ameren, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares Ameren and Empresa Distribuidora Y Comercializadora Norte S.A. (Edenor)’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Ameren	14.55%	10.38%	2.82%
Empresa Distribuidora Y Comercializadora Norte S.A. (Edenor)	10.61%	18.30%	6.38%

Risk and Volatility

Ameren has a beta of 0.45, suggesting that its share price is 55% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Empresa Distribuidora Y Comercializadora Norte S.A. (Edenor) has a beta of 1.49, suggesting that its share price is 49% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

79.1% of Ameren shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 1.6% of Empresa Distribuidora Y Comercializadora Norte S.A. (Edenor) shares are held by institutional investors. 0.3% of Ameren shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Ameren beats Empresa Distribuidora Y Comercializadora Norte S.A. (Edenor) on 11 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Ameren

Ameren Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a public utility holding company in the United States. The company operates through four segments: Ameren Missouri, Ameren Illinois Electric Distribution, Ameren Illinois Natural Gas, and Ameren Transmission. It engages in the rate-regulated electric generation, transmission, and distribution activities; and rate-regulated natural gas distribution business. In addition, the company generates electricity through coal, nuclear, and natural gas, as well as renewable sources, such as hydroelectric, wind, methane gas, and solar. It serves residential, commercial, and industrial customers. The company was founded in 1881 and is headquartered in Saint Louis, Missouri.

About Empresa Distribuidora Y Comercializadora Norte S.A. (Edenor)

Empresa Distribuidora y Comercializadora Norte Sociedad Anónima is involved in the distribution and sale of electricity in Argentina. The company was incorporated in 1992 and is based in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Empresa Distribuidora y Comercializadora Norte Sociedad Anónima operates as a subsidiary of Empresa de Energía del Cono Sur S.A..