ONE Gas (NYSE:OGS) vs. Centrica (OTCMKTS:CPYYY) Head-To-Head Survey

ONE Gas (NYSE:OGS) and Centrica (OTCMKTS:CPYYY) are both utilities companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, analyst recommendations, profitability, dividends, valuation, institutional ownership and earnings.

Volatility and Risk

ONE Gas has a beta of 0.85, meaning that its share price is 15% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Centrica has a beta of 0.89, meaning that its share price is 11% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

ONE Gas pays an annual dividend of $2.68 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.5%. Centrica pays an annual dividend of $0.30 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.4%. ONE Gas pays out 64.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. ONE Gas has raised its dividend for 2 consecutive years. ONE Gas is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares ONE Gas and Centrica”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
ONE Gas	$2.08 billion	2.21	$222.85 million	$4.19	18.28
Centrica	$21.55 billion	0.49	$1.70 billion	N/A	N/A

Centrica has higher revenue and earnings than ONE Gas.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent recommendations and price targets for ONE Gas and Centrica, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
ONE Gas	0	3	4	0	2.57
Centrica	0	2	0	0	2.00

ONE Gas presently has a consensus target price of $77.64, indicating a potential upside of 1.38%. Given ONE Gas’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe ONE Gas is more favorable than Centrica.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

88.7% of ONE Gas shares are held by institutional investors. 1.4% of ONE Gas shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares ONE Gas and Centrica’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
ONE Gas	10.63%	8.07%	2.99%
Centrica	N/A	N/A	N/A

Summary

ONE Gas beats Centrica on 11 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About ONE Gas

ONE Gas, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates as a regulated natural gas distribution company in the United States. The company provides natural gas distribution services to approximately 2.3 million customers in Oklahoma, Kansas, and Texas. It serves residential, commercial, and transportation customers. The company was founded in 1906 and is headquartered in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

About Centrica

Centrica plc operates as an integrated energy company in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Scandinavia, North America, and internationally. The company operates through British Gas Services & Solutions, British Gas Energy, Centrica Business Solutions, Bord Gáis Energy, Centrica Energy, and Upstream segments. It supplies gas and electricity to residential, commercial, industrial customers, and small businesses, as well as offers energy-related services; and generates power from nuclear assets. The company also provides installation, repair, and maintenance services for central heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems, as well as offers breakdown services. In addition, it is involved in the procurement, trading, and optimization of energy; procurement and sale of LNG; development and operation of large-scale power assets; building of solar farm and connecting to grid; and supply of energy efficiency solutions and technologies. Further, the company produces and processes gas and oil; constructs, owns, and exploits infrastructure; offers central heating, boiler and controls, plumbing and drains, and electrical appliance insurance covers; and engages in the social enterprise investment fund activities. Additionally, it provides metering assets and services, vehicle leasing, and energy management products and services; constructs battery storage and gas peakers; and operates a gas storage and franchise network. The company was formerly known as Yieldtop plc and changed its name to Centrica plc in December 1996. Centrica plc was founded in 1812 and is based in Windsor, the United Kingdom.