Cosan (NYSE:CSAN) vs. Central Puerto (NYSE:CEPU) Financial Contrast

Cosan (NYSE:CSAN) and Central Puerto (NYSE:CEPU) are both small-cap energy companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, earnings, analyst recommendations, dividends, profitability, institutional ownership and valuation.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Cosan and Central Puerto”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Cosan	$8.15 billion	0.24	-$1.75 billion	$1.32	3.24
Central Puerto	$810.70 million	1.67	$54.56 million	$0.98	9.11

Central Puerto has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Cosan. Cosan is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Central Puerto, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares Cosan and Central Puerto’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Cosan	-28.08%	-27.61%	-8.25%
Central Puerto	21.30%	11.81%	8.32%

Volatility and Risk

Cosan has a beta of 1.01, indicating that its stock price is 1% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Central Puerto has a beta of 1.07, indicating that its stock price is 7% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

3.0% of Central Puerto shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.1% of Central Puerto shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and recommmendations for Cosan and Central Puerto, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Cosan	2	2	1	1	2.17
Central Puerto	1	0	0	0	1.00

Cosan currently has a consensus target price of $9.47, indicating a potential upside of 121.44%. Given Cosan’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities analysts plainly believe Cosan is more favorable than Central Puerto.

Summary

Central Puerto beats Cosan on 9 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Cosan

Cosan S.A. engages in the fuel distribution business. It operates through Raízen, Compass, Moove, Rumo, and Radar segments. The company’s Raízen segment engages in the production, commercialization, origination, and trading of ethanol, bioenergy, renewable sources, and sugar; trading and resale of electricity; and distribution and commercialization of fuels and lubricants. Its Compass segment distributes piped natural gas to industrial, residential, commercial, automotive, and cogeneration customers; and develops infrastructure projects in a regasification terminal, offshore gas pipeline, and thermal generation projects utilizing natural gas, as well as commercialization of electricity and natural gas. The company’s Moove segment produces and distributes lubricants under the Comma brand. Its Rumo segment provides logistics services for rail transportation, port storage, and loading of goods, including grains and sugar; and leases locomotives, wagons, and another railroad equipment, as well as operates containers. The company’s Radar segment manages agricultural property. It operates in Brazil, England, France, Spain and Portugal, Argentina, Bolivia, Uruguay and Paraguay, the United States, Asia, and internationally. Cosan S.A. was founded in 1936 and is headquartered in São Paulo, Brazil.

About Central Puerto

Central Puerto S.A. engages in the electric power generation in Argentina. It operates through three segments: Electric Power Generation from Conventional Sources, Electric Power Generation from Renewable Sources, and Natural Gas Transport and Distribution. The company generates energy through thermal, hydroelectric, and wind farms. It also engages in the natural gas transport and distribution business. Central Puerto S.A. was founded in 1898 and is based in Buenos Aires, Argentina.