Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) and Companhia Paranaense de Energia – Copel (NYSE:ELPC) Financial Review

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) and Companhia Paranaense de Energia – Copel (NYSE:ELPC) are both utilities companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, earnings, valuation, analyst recommendations, dividends, profitability and risk.

Dividends

Xcel Energy pays an annual dividend of $2.28 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.8%. Companhia Paranaense de Energia – Copel pays an annual dividend of $0.32 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.8%. Xcel Energy pays out 63.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Companhia Paranaense de Energia – Copel pays out 45.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Xcel Energy has raised its dividend for 22 consecutive years. Companhia Paranaense de Energia – Copel is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

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

Profitability

This table compares Xcel Energy and Companhia Paranaense de Energia – Copel’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Xcel Energy	14.85%	10.52%	2.92%
Companhia Paranaense de Energia – Copel	N/A	N/A	N/A

Risk & Volatility

Xcel Energy has a beta of 0.37, indicating that its share price is 63% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Companhia Paranaense de Energia – Copel has a beta of -0.02, indicating that its share price is 102% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations and price targets for Xcel Energy and Companhia Paranaense de Energia – Copel, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Xcel Energy	0	3	9	0	2.75
Companhia Paranaense de Energia – Copel	0	1	0	0	2.00

Xcel Energy presently has a consensus price target of $81.91, indicating a potential upside of 1.21%. Given Xcel Energy’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities analysts clearly believe Xcel Energy is more favorable than Companhia Paranaense de Energia – Copel.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Xcel Energy and Companhia Paranaense de Energia – Copel”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Xcel Energy	$13.44 billion	3.56	$1.94 billion	$3.61	22.42
Companhia Paranaense de Energia – Copel	$4.20 billion	2.13	$759.71 million	$0.71	11.76

Xcel Energy has higher revenue and earnings than Companhia Paranaense de Energia – Copel. Companhia Paranaense de Energia – Copel is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Xcel Energy, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

Xcel Energy beats Companhia Paranaense de Energia – Copel on 15 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

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.

About Companhia Paranaense de Energia – Copel

Companhia Paranaense de Energia – COPEL engages in the generation, transformation, distribution, and sale of electricity to industrial, residential, commercial, rural, and other customers in Brazil. The company operates through Power Generation and Transmission, Power Distribution, GAS, Power Sale, and Holding and Services segments. It is also involved in the piped natural gas distribution. The company operates hydroelectric, wind, and thermoelectric plants; and owns and operates transmission and distribution lines. It holds concessions to distribute electricity in municipalities in the State of Paraná and in the municipality of Porto União in the State of Santa Catarina. Companhia Paranaense de Energia COPEL was founded in 1954 and is headquartered in Curitiba, Brazil.