Financial Contrast: United Utilities Group (OTCMKTS:UUGRY) and OGE Energy (NYSE:OGE)

United Utilities Group (OTCMKTS:UUGRY) and OGE Energy (NYSE:OGE) are both utilities companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, profitability, dividends, risk and earnings.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and price targets for United Utilities Group and OGE Energy, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
United Utilities Group	0	3	2	1	2.67
OGE Energy	0	5	5	0	2.50

OGE Energy has a consensus target price of $48.75, suggesting a potential upside of 10.00%. Given OGE Energy’s higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe OGE Energy is more favorable than United Utilities Group.

Volatility & Risk

United Utilities Group has a beta of 0.75, suggesting that its stock price is 25% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, OGE Energy has a beta of 0.59, suggesting that its stock price is 41% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

71.8% of OGE Energy shares are held by institutional investors. 0.6% of OGE Energy shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares United Utilities Group and OGE Energy”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
United Utilities Group	$2.70 billion	3.95	$337.73 million	N/A	N/A
OGE Energy	$3.29 billion	2.71	$441.50 million	$2.49	17.80

OGE Energy has higher revenue and earnings than United Utilities Group.

Profitability

This table compares United Utilities Group and OGE Energy’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
United Utilities Group	N/A	N/A	N/A
OGE Energy	15.28%	10.86%	3.62%

Dividends

United Utilities Group pays an annual dividend of $1.68 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.4%. OGE Energy pays an annual dividend of $1.70 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.8%. OGE Energy pays out 68.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. OGE Energy has raised its dividend for 18 consecutive years.

Summary

OGE Energy beats United Utilities Group on 10 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

About United Utilities Group

United Utilities Group PLC provides water and wastewater services in the United Kingdom. It is involved in the renewable energy generation, corporate trustee, financing, and property management activities; and provision of consulting, and project management services. The company operates 43,000 kilometers of water pipes; and 79,000 kilometers of wastewater pipes. United Utilities Group PLC was incorporated in 2008 and is based in Warrington, the United Kingdom.

About OGE Energy

OGE Energy Corp., together with its subsidiaries, operates as an energy services provider in the United States. The company generates, transmits, distributes, and sells electric energy. In addition, it provides retail electric service to approximately 896,000 customers, which covers a service area of approximately 30,000 square miles in Oklahoma and western Arkansas; and owns and operates coal-fired, natural gas-fired, wind-powered, and solar-powered generating assets. OGE Energy Corp. was founded in 1902 and is headquartered in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.