Genie Energy (NYSE:GNE) & Enel Chile (NYSE:ENIC) Critical Review

Enel Chile (NYSE:ENIC) and Genie Energy (NYSE:GNE) are both utilities companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, earnings, dividends, profitability and risk.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Enel Chile and Genie Energy”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Enel Chile	$4.36 billion	1.41	$537.63 million	$0.42	10.55
Genie Energy	$501.97 million	0.78	$24.01 million	$0.81	18.42

Enel Chile has higher revenue and earnings than Genie Energy. Enel Chile is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Genie Energy, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current recommendations and price targets for Enel Chile and Genie Energy, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Enel Chile	0	4	1	1	2.50
Genie Energy	0	2	0	0	2.00

Enel Chile presently has a consensus target price of $4.65, suggesting a potential upside of 4.97%. Given Enel Chile’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities analysts plainly believe Enel Chile is more favorable than Genie Energy.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

3.2% of Enel Chile shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 49.1% of Genie Energy shares are owned by institutional investors. 18.5% of Genie Energy shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Enel Chile and Genie Energy’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Enel Chile	12.30%	10.20%	4.50%
Genie Energy	5.05%	12.80%	7.82%

Dividends

Enel Chile pays an annual dividend of $0.26 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.9%. Genie Energy pays an annual dividend of $0.30 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.0%. Enel Chile pays out 61.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Genie Energy pays out 37.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years.

Volatility & Risk

Enel Chile has a beta of 1.04, meaning that its share price is 4% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Genie Energy has a beta of 0.2, meaning that its share price is 80% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Enel Chile beats Genie Energy on 10 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Enel Chile

Enel Chile S.A., an electricity utility company, engages in the generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity in Chile. The company operates through Generation, and Distribution and Networks Segments. It generates electricity through various sources, such as hydroelectric, thermal, wind, solar, and geothermal power plants. It distributes electricity in various municipalities of the Santiago metropolitan region. The company also engages in the sale and transportation of natural gas, and provision of engineering consulting services. It serves residential, commercial, industrial, and other customers. The company was formerly known as Enersis Chile S.A. and changed its name to Enel Chile S.A. in October 2016. The company was incorporated in 2016 and is headquartered in Santiago, Chile. Enel Chile S.A. (SNSE:ENELCHILE) operates as a subsidiary of Enel SpA (BIT:ENEL).

About Genie Energy

Genie Energy Ltd., through its subsidiaries, engages in the supply of electricity and natural gas to residential and small business customers in the United States and internationally. It operates in two segments, GRE and Genie Renewables. The company also develops, constructs, and operates solar energy projects for commercial and industrial customers, as well as its own portfolio; provides energy brokerage and advisory services; markets community solar energy solutions; and manufactures and distributes solar panel, as well as engages in solar installation design and project management activities. Genie Energy Ltd. was incorporated in 2011 and is headquartered in Newark, New Jersey.