Head to Head Comparison: TransAlta (NYSE:TAC) & Terna Rete Elettrica Nazionale (OTCMKTS:TEZNY)

Terna Rete Elettrica Nazionale (OTCMKTS:TEZNY) and TransAlta (NYSE:TAC) are both utilities companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, earnings, valuation, institutional ownership, profitability, risk and analyst recommendations.

Profitability

This table compares Terna Rete Elettrica Nazionale and TransAlta’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Terna Rete Elettrica Nazionale	N/A	N/A	N/A
TransAlta	-6.79%	-2.06%	-0.20%

Volatility & Risk

Terna Rete Elettrica Nazionale has a beta of 0.75, suggesting that its stock price is 25% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, TransAlta has a beta of 0.79, suggesting that its stock price is 21% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

59.0% of TransAlta shares are held by institutional investors. 13.1% of TransAlta shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Terna Rete Elettrica Nazionale and TransAlta”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Terna Rete Elettrica Nazionale	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
TransAlta	$2.08 billion	2.47	$167.12 million	($0.42)	-41.13

TransAlta has higher revenue and earnings than Terna Rete Elettrica Nazionale.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent recommendations and price targets for Terna Rete Elettrica Nazionale and TransAlta, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Terna Rete Elettrica Nazionale	1	1	1	0	2.00
TransAlta	1	2	6	1	2.70

TransAlta has a consensus price target of $19.88, indicating a potential upside of 15.05%. Given TransAlta’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe TransAlta is more favorable than Terna Rete Elettrica Nazionale.

Dividends

Terna Rete Elettrica Nazionale pays an annual dividend of $1.29 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.1%. TransAlta pays an annual dividend of $0.19 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.1%. TransAlta pays out -45.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. TransAlta has increased its dividend for 2 consecutive years.

Summary

TransAlta beats Terna Rete Elettrica Nazionale on 10 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Terna Rete Elettrica Nazionale

Terna S.p.A., together with its subsidiaries, provides electricity transmission and dispatching services in Italy, other Euro-area countries, and internationally. It operates through Regulated, Non-Regulated, and International segments. The company is involved in the design, construction, management, development, operation, and maintenance of national transmission grid; dispatching and metering; and construction of storage systems. It also supplies transformers and cables; provides energy and connectivity services; and installs and operates interconnecting lines. In addition, the company designs, produces, commercializes, and repairs power transformers for electricity transmission and distribution grids; industrial transformers for the steel and metals industries; special transformers for convertors used in electrochemical production; produces and sells marine and terrestrial cables; develops renewable energy projects; and undertakes private interconnector projects. Terna S.p.A. was founded in 1962 and is based in Rome, Italy.

About TransAlta

TransAlta Corporation engages in the development, production, and sale of electric energy. It operates through Hydro, Wind and Solar, Gas, Energy Transition, and Energy Marketing segments. The Hydro segment holds interest of approximately 922 megawatts (MW) of owned hydroelectric generating capacity located in Alberta, British Columbia, and Ontario. The Wind and Solar segment has a net ownership interest of approximately 2,057 MW of owned wind and solar electrical-generating capacity, as well as battery storage facilities located in Alberta, Ontario, New Brunswick, and Québec in Canada; the states of Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Washington, and Wyoming in the United States; and the state of Western Australia. The Gas segment has a net ownership interest of approximately 2,775 MW of owned gas electrical-generating capacity, and facilities located in Alberta, Ontario, Michigan, and the state of Western Australia. The Energy Transition segment has a net ownership interest of approximately 671 MW of owned coal electrical-generating capacity, as well as operates the Skookumchuck hydro facility in Centralia; and engages in the highvale mine and the mine reclamation activities. The Energy Marketing segment is involved in the trading of power, natural gas, and environmental products. It serves customers in various industry segments, including commercial real estate, municipal, manufacturing, industrial, hospitality, finance, and oil and gas. TransAlta Corporation was founded in 1909 and is headquartered in Calgary, Canada.