Head-To-Head Review: Power Assets (OTCMKTS:HGKGY) versus Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL)

Power Assets (OTCMKTS:HGKGY) and Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) are both large-cap utilities companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, institutional ownership, risk, earnings, analyst recommendations, dividends and profitability.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings for Power Assets and Xcel Energy, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Power Assets	0	0	0	0	0.00
Xcel Energy	0	3	8	0	2.73

Xcel Energy has a consensus price target of $76.00, indicating a potential upside of 2.37%. Given Xcel Energy’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Xcel Energy is more favorable than Power Assets.

Dividends

Power Assets pays an annual dividend of $0.48 per share and has a dividend yield of 7.3%. Xcel Energy pays an annual dividend of $2.28 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.1%. Xcel Energy pays out 63.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Xcel Energy has raised its dividend for 22 consecutive years.

Profitability

This table compares Power Assets and Xcel Energy’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Power Assets	N/A	N/A	N/A
Xcel Energy	14.85%	10.52%	2.92%

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Power Assets and Xcel Energy”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Power Assets	$117.77 million	119.61	$784.46 million	N/A	N/A
Xcel Energy	$13.44 billion	3.27	$1.94 billion	$3.61	20.57

Xcel Energy has higher revenue and earnings than Power Assets.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

78.4% of Xcel Energy shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.0% of Power Assets shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 0.1% of Xcel Energy shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Volatility and Risk

Power Assets has a beta of 0.36, meaning that its share price is 64% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Xcel Energy has a beta of 0.34, meaning that its share price is 66% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Xcel Energy beats Power Assets on 10 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Power Assets

Power Assets Holdings Limited, an investment holding company, engages in the generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity in Hong Kong, the United Kingdom, Australia, Mainland China, and internationally. It generates energy from thermal, renewable energy, and waste sources. The company also transmits and distributes oil and gas; and provides trust administration and management services. It has a generation capacity of 879 MW renewable energy/energy from waste, 5,262 MW gas fired, and 3,567 MW coal/oil fired; and operates 114,900 km of gas/oil pipeline, as well as 388,200 km of power network serving 19,790,000 customers. The company was formerly known as Hongkong Electric Holdings Limited and changed its name to Power Assets Holdings Limited in February 2011. Power Assets Holdings Limited was founded in 1889 and is based in Central, Hong Kong.

About Xcel Energy

Xcel Energy Inc., through its subsidiaries, engages in the generation, purchasing, transmission, distribution, and sale of electricity. It operates through Regulated Electric Utility, Regulated Natural Gas Utility, and All Other segments. The company generates electricity through wind, nuclear, hydroelectric, biomass, and solar energy sources, as well as coal, natural gas, oil, wood, and refuse-derived fuels. It also purchases, transports, distributes, and sells natural gas to retail customers, as well as transports customer-owned natural gas. In addition, the company develops and leases natural gas pipelines, and storage and compression facilities; and invests in rental housing projects and nonregulated assets, as well as procures equipment for the construction of renewable generation facilities. It serves residential, commercial, and industrial customers in the portions of Colorado, Michigan, Minnesota, New Mexico, North Dakota, South Dakota, Texas, and Wisconsin. The company was incorporated in 1909 and is headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota.