Telenor ASA (OTCMKTS:TELNY) versus Rogers Communication (NYSE:RCI) Critical Analysis

Telenor ASA (OTCMKTS:TELNY) and Rogers Communication (NYSE:RCI) are both large-cap utilities companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, earnings, risk, dividends, profitability, institutional ownership and valuation.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

45.5% of Rogers Communication shares are owned by institutional investors. 29.0% of Rogers Communication shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Volatility and Risk

Telenor ASA has a beta of 0.42, suggesting that its share price is 58% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Rogers Communication has a beta of 0.79, suggesting that its share price is 21% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Telenor ASA and Rogers Communication”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Telenor ASA	$7.44 billion	3.07	$1.71 billion	$0.74	22.51
Rogers Communication	$15.04 billion	1.27	$1.27 billion	$2.01	17.61

Telenor ASA has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Rogers Communication. Rogers Communication is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Telenor ASA, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares Telenor ASA and Rogers Communication’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Telenor ASA	13.67%	14.56%	5.03%
Rogers Communication	7.33%	21.59%	3.72%

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings and recommmendations for Telenor ASA and Rogers Communication, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Telenor ASA	1	5	0	0	1.83
Rogers Communication	1	3	2	0	2.17

Rogers Communication has a consensus price target of $33.00, suggesting a potential downside of 6.75%. Given Rogers Communication’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Rogers Communication is more favorable than Telenor ASA.

Dividends

Telenor ASA pays an annual dividend of $0.67 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.0%. Rogers Communication pays an annual dividend of $1.44 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.1%. Telenor ASA pays out 90.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Rogers Communication pays out 71.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Rogers Communication is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Summary

Rogers Communication beats Telenor ASA on 11 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Telenor ASA

Telenor ASA, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a telecommunication company worldwide. It operates through four segments: Nordics, Asia, Infrastructure, and Amp. The company offers mobile subscriptions and handsets, telephony, broadband, data security, communications services, and TV services to residential and business customers, as well as wholesale services. It also builds, develops, maintains, and leases passive telecom infrastructure, such as towers, masts, and buildings. The company also provides machine-to-machine, internet-of-things, and inbound and national roaming services. Telenor ASA was founded in 1855 and is headquartered in Fornebu, Norway.

About Rogers Communication

Rogers Communications Inc. operates as a communications and media company in Canada. It operates through three segments: Wireless, Cable, and Media. The company offers mobile Internet access, wireless voice and enhanced voice, device financing, device protection, global voice and data roaming, wireless home phone, bridging landline, machine-to-machine and Internet of Things solutions, and advanced wireless solutions for businesses, as well as device shipping and express pickup services; and postpaid and prepaid services under the Rogers, Fido, and chatr brands. It also provides internet and WiFi services; and monitoring, security, automation, energy efficiency, and smart control through smartphone app. In addition, the company offers local and network TV; on-demand television; cloud-based digital video recorders; voice-activated remote controls, and integrated apps; personal video recorders; linear and time-shifted programming; digital specialty channels; and 4K television programming. Further, it provides residential and small business local telephony services; voicemail, call waiting, and long distance; voice, data networking, Internet protocol (IP), and Ethernet services; private networking, Internet, IP voice, and cloud solutions; optical wave and multi-protocol label switching services; information technology and network technologies; cable access network services; telecommunications technical consulting services; and season games through television, smartphones, tablets, personal computers, and other streaming devices, as well as operates Ignite TV and Ignite TV app. Additionally, the company owns Toronto Blue Jays and the Rogers Centre event venue; and operates Sportsnet ONE, Sportsnet 360, Sportsnet World, Citytv, OMNI, FX (Canada), FXX (Canada), and OLN television networks, as well as 52 AM and FM radio stations. It also offers Rogers and the Rogers World Elite Mastercard. The company was founded in 1960 and is headquartered in Toronto, Canada.