Financial Review: Centrica (OTCMKTS:CPYYY) & Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE)

Centrica (OTCMKTS:CPYYY) and Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) are both large-cap utilities companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, dividends, earnings, profitability, valuation, institutional ownership and risk.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings for Centrica and Sempra Energy, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Centrica	0	2	0	0	2.00
Sempra Energy	0	6	6	0	2.50

Sempra Energy has a consensus target price of $81.27, suggesting a potential downside of 3.20%. Given Sempra Energy’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Sempra Energy is more favorable than Centrica.

Profitability

This table compares Centrica and Sempra Energy’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Centrica	N/A	N/A	N/A
Sempra Energy	20.28%	8.42%	3.17%

Dividends

Centrica pays an annual dividend of $0.30 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.5%. Sempra Energy pays an annual dividend of $2.58 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.1%. Sempra Energy pays out 62.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Sempra Energy has raised its dividend for 22 consecutive years.

Volatility & Risk

Centrica has a beta of 0.89, meaning that its share price is 11% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Sempra Energy has a beta of 0.65, meaning that its share price is 35% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Centrica and Sempra Energy”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Centrica	$21.55 billion	0.48	$1.70 billion	N/A	N/A
Sempra Energy	$13.34 billion	4.11	$2.86 billion	$4.14	20.28

Sempra Energy has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Centrica.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

89.7% of Sempra Energy shares are held by institutional investors. 0.3% of Sempra Energy shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Sempra Energy beats Centrica on 11 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Centrica

Centrica plc operates as an integrated energy company in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Scandinavia, North America, and internationally. The company operates through British Gas Services & Solutions, British Gas Energy, Centrica Business Solutions, Bord Gáis Energy, Centrica Energy, and Upstream segments. It supplies gas and electricity to residential, commercial, industrial customers, and small businesses, as well as offers energy-related services; and generates power from nuclear assets. The company also provides installation, repair, and maintenance services for central heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems, as well as offers breakdown services. In addition, it is involved in the procurement, trading, and optimization of energy; procurement and sale of LNG; development and operation of large-scale power assets; building of solar farm and connecting to grid; and supply of energy efficiency solutions and technologies. Further, the company produces and processes gas and oil; constructs, owns, and exploits infrastructure; offers central heating, boiler and controls, plumbing and drains, and electrical appliance insurance covers; and engages in the social enterprise investment fund activities. Additionally, it provides metering assets and services, vehicle leasing, and energy management products and services; constructs battery storage and gas peakers; and operates a gas storage and franchise network. The company was formerly known as Yieldtop plc and changed its name to Centrica plc in December 1996. Centrica plc was founded in 1812 and is based in Windsor, the United Kingdom.

About Sempra Energy

Sempra operates as an energy infrastructure company in the United States and internationally. It operates through three segments: Sempra California, Sempra Texas Utilities, and Sempra Infrastructure. The Sempra California segment provides electric services; and natural gas services to San Diego County. As of December 31, 2023, it offered electric services to approximately 3.6 million population and natural gas services to approximately 3.3 million population that covers 4,100 square miles. This segment owns and operates a natural gas distribution, transmission, and storage system that supplies natural gas. As of December 31, 2023, it serves a population of 21 million covering an area of 24,000 square miles. The Sempra Texas Utilities segment engages in the regulated electricity transmission and distribution. As of December 31, 2023, its transmission system included 18,298 circuit miles of transmission lines; 1,257 transmission and distribution substations; interconnection to 173 third-party generation facilities totaling 54,277 MW; and distribution system included approximately 4.0 million points of delivery and consisted of 125,116 miles of overhead and underground lines. The Sempra Infrastructure segment develops, builds, operates, and invests in energy infrastructure to help enable the energy transition in North American markets and worldwide. The company was formerly known as Sempra Energy and changed its name to Sempra in May 2023. Sempra was incorporated in 1996 and is based in San Diego, California.