Pampa Energia (NYSE:PAM) & National Grid Transco (NYSE:NGG) Critical Contrast

Pampa Energia (NYSE:PAM) and National Grid Transco (NYSE:NGG) are both utilities companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, dividends, institutional ownership, profitability, risk, valuation and earnings.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations and price targets for Pampa Energia and National Grid Transco, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Pampa Energia	0	1	2	1	3.00
National Grid Transco	2	6	1	0	1.89

Pampa Energia currently has a consensus target price of $105.00, indicating a potential upside of 31.65%. National Grid Transco has a consensus target price of $83.80, indicating a potential downside of 1.09%. Given Pampa Energia’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, research analysts clearly believe Pampa Energia is more favorable than National Grid Transco.

Volatility and Risk

Pampa Energia has a beta of 0.97, suggesting that its share price is 3% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, National Grid Transco has a beta of 0.79, suggesting that its share price is 21% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Pampa Energia and National Grid Transco’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Pampa Energia	20.31%	12.23%	6.75%
National Grid Transco	N/A	N/A	N/A

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Pampa Energia and National Grid Transco”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Pampa Energia	$2.00 billion	2.17	$377.00 million	$8.02	9.94
National Grid Transco	$23.71 billion	3.55	$4.34 billion	N/A	N/A

National Grid Transco has higher revenue and earnings than Pampa Energia.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

12.8% of Pampa Energia shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 4.7% of National Grid Transco shares are owned by institutional investors. 55.5% of Pampa Energia shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

Pampa Energia beats National Grid Transco on 10 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Pampa Energia

Pampa Energía S.A. operates as an integrated power company in Argentina. The company operates through Electricity Generation, Oil and Gas, Petrochemicals, and Holding and Other Business segments. It generates electricity through thermal plants, hydroelectric plants, and wind farms with a 5,332 megawatt (MW) installed capacity. The company also explores for and produces oil and gas in the provinces of Neuquén and Río Negro. In addition, it produces petrochemicals, such as styrene, synthetic rubber, and polystyrene. Further, the company operates and maintains a 22,391 km high-voltage electricity transmission network in Argentina. Additionally, it holds a concession for the transportation of natural gas with 9,248 km of gas pipelines in the center, west, and south of Argentina; and processes and sells natural gas liquids in Bahía Blanca in the Province of Buenos Aires, as well as offers related advisory services. The company was formerly known as Pampa Holding S.A. and changed its name to Pampa Energía S.A. in September 2008. Pampa Energía S.A. was incorporated in 1945 and is based in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

About National Grid Transco

National Grid plc transmits and distributes electricity and gas. It operates through UK Electricity Transmission, UK Electricity Distribution, UK Electricity System Operator, New England, New York, National Grid Ventures, and Other segments. The UK Electricity Transmission segment provides electricity transmission and construction work services in England and Wales. The UK Electricity Distribution segment offers electricity distribution services in Midlands, and South West of England and South Wales. The UK Electricity System Operator segment provides balancing services for supply and demand of electricity on Great Britain’s electricity transmission system; and acts as an agent on behalf of transmission operators. The New England segment offers electricity and gas distribution, and electricity transmission services in New England. The New York segment provides electricity and gas distribution, and electricity transmission services in New York. The National Grid Ventures segment provides transmission services through electricity interconnectors and LNG importation at the Isle of Grain, as well as sale of renewables projects. The Other segment engages in the leasing and sale of commercial property, as well as insurance activities in the United Kingdom. The company was founded in 1990 and is headquartered in London, the United Kingdom.