Critical Survey: ENGIE (OTCMKTS:ENGIY) vs. Pacific Gas & Electric (NYSE:PCG)

ENGIE (OTCMKTS:ENGIY) and Pacific Gas & Electric (NYSE:PCG) are both large-cap utilities companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, valuation, analyst recommendations, profitability, risk, earnings and institutional ownership.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares ENGIE and Pacific Gas & Electric”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
ENGIE	$79.88 billion	0.66	$4.44 billion	N/A	N/A
Pacific Gas & Electric	$24.42 billion	1.78	$2.51 billion	$1.09	14.88

ENGIE has higher revenue and earnings than Pacific Gas & Electric.

Dividends

ENGIE pays an annual dividend of $1.21 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.6%. Pacific Gas & Electric pays an annual dividend of $0.10 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.6%. Pacific Gas & Electric pays out 9.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Pacific Gas & Electric has increased its dividend for 1 consecutive years.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations for ENGIE and Pacific Gas & Electric, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
ENGIE	0	1	2	1	3.00
Pacific Gas & Electric	0	7	6	0	2.46

Pacific Gas & Electric has a consensus price target of $20.05, indicating a potential upside of 23.65%. Given Pacific Gas & Electric’s higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Pacific Gas & Electric is more favorable than ENGIE.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

78.6% of Pacific Gas & Electric shares are held by institutional investors. 0.2% of Pacific Gas & Electric shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares ENGIE and Pacific Gas & Electric’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
ENGIE	N/A	N/A	N/A
Pacific Gas & Electric	9.95%	10.13%	2.17%

Risk and Volatility

ENGIE has a beta of 0.65, indicating that its stock price is 35% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Pacific Gas & Electric has a beta of 0.58, indicating that its stock price is 42% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Pacific Gas & Electric beats ENGIE on 9 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

About ENGIE

ENGIE SA engages in the power, natural gas, and energy services businesses. It operates through Renewables, Networks, Energy Solutions, FlexGen, Retail, Nuclear, and Others segments. The Renewables segment comprises renewable energy generation activities, including financing, construction, operation, and maintenance of renewable energy facilities using various energy sources, such as hydroelectric, onshore wind, photovoltaic solar, offshore wind, and geothermal. The Networks segment comprises the electricity and gas infrastructure activities and projects, including the management and development of gas and electricity transportation networks and natural gas distribution networks in and outside of Europe, natural gas underground storage in Europe, and regasification infrastructure in France and Chile. The Energy Solutions encompasses the construction and management of decentralized energy networks to produce energy and related services. The FlexGen segment operates flexible thermal generation and electricity, pumping, and battery storage facilities; solutions for decarbonizing industry with low-carbon hydrogen; and financing, construction, and operation of desalination plants. The Retail segment engages in the sale of gas and electricity to professional, individual, and residential clients. The Nuclear segment engages in the nuclear power generation activities. The others segment sells energy to companies and offers energy management services and solutions. The company was formerly known as GDF SUEZ S.A. and changed its name to ENGIE SA in April 2015. The company was founded in 1880 and is headquartered in Courbevoie, France.

About Pacific Gas & Electric

PG&E Corp. operates as a holding company, which engages in generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity and natural gas to customers. It specializes in energy, utility, power, gas, electricity, solar and sustainability. The company was founded in 1995 and is headquartered in Oakland, CA.