Summer Energy (OTCMKTS:SUME) & Unitil (NYSE:UTL) Critical Contrast

Summer Energy (OTCMKTS:SUME) and Unitil (NYSE:UTL) are both small-cap utilities companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, earnings, valuation, risk, profitability, institutional ownership and analyst recommendations.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

76.8% of Unitil shares are owned by institutional investors. 56.8% of Summer Energy shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 2.0% of Unitil shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Volatility & Risk

Summer Energy has a beta of -174.59, indicating that its share price is 17,559% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Unitil has a beta of 0.49, indicating that its share price is 51% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations and price targets for Summer Energy and Unitil, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Summer Energy	0	0	0	0	0.00
Unitil	0	1	0	0	2.00

Profitability

This table compares Summer Energy and Unitil’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Summer Energy	N/A	N/A	N/A
Unitil	9.37%	9.38%	2.71%

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Summer Energy and Unitil”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Summer Energy	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Unitil	$536.00 million	1.79	$47.10 million	$3.00	17.79

Unitil has higher revenue and earnings than Summer Energy.

Summary

Unitil beats Summer Energy on 7 of the 8 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Summer Energy

Summer Energy Holdings, Inc., through its subsidiaries, operates as a retail electric provider in Texas, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Ohio, and Illinois. It procures wholesale energy and resells to commercial and residential customers. The company was founded in 2011 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas.

About Unitil

Unitil Corporation, a public utility holding company, engages in the distribution of electricity and natural gas. It operates through two segments, Utility Electric Operations, Utility Gas Operations. The company distributes electricity in the southeastern seacoast and state capital regions of New Hampshire, and the greater Fitchburg area of north central Massachusetts; and distributes natural gas in southeastern New Hampshire and portions of southern and central Maine, including the city of Portland and the Lewiston-Auburn area, as well as electricity and natural gas in the greater Fitchburg area of north central Massachusetts. It also operates 86 miles of interstate underground natural gas transmission pipeline that provides interstate natural gas pipeline access and transportation services primarily in Maine and New Hampshire. In addition, the company provides real estate management services. It serves approximately 108,100 electric customers and 87,500 natural gas customers. Unitil Corporation was incorporated in 1984 and is headquartered in Hampton, New Hampshire.