Head to Head Survey: Central Puerto (NYSE:CEPU) and Zeons (OTCMKTS:ZEON)

Zeons (OTCMKTS:ZEON) and Central Puerto (NYSE:CEPU) are both energy companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, earnings, profitability, valuation and dividends.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings and target prices for Zeons and Central Puerto, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Zeons	0	0	0	0	0.00
Central Puerto	0	1	1	0	2.50

Central Puerto has a consensus target price of $17.50, suggesting a potential upside of 6.34%. Given Central Puerto’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Central Puerto is more favorable than Zeons.

Insider and 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 endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Zeons and Central Puerto”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Zeons	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Central Puerto	$810.70 million	3.07	$54.56 million	$1.48	11.12

Central Puerto has higher revenue and earnings than Zeons.

Volatility and Risk

Zeons has a beta of -1.43, indicating that its stock price is 243% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Central Puerto has a beta of 1.06, indicating that its stock price is 6% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Zeons	N/A	N/A	N/A
Central Puerto	28.24%	15.01%	10.43%

Summary

Central Puerto beats Zeons on 10 of the 10 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Zeons

Zeons Corporation provides research and development of energy solutions. It produces bio fuels, including fuels for diesel, gasoline, and natural gas engines from agricultural feed stocks, such as soybeans and corn. The company also offers a family of technologies that focus on the development of energy from various sources, and the conversion of waste into energy or other usable products. The company was formerly known as U.S. Sustainable Energy Corporation and changed its name to Zeons Corporation in February 2010. The company is based in Natchez, Mississippi.

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.