Consolidated Edison (NYSE:ED) vs. EDP – Energias de Portugal (OTCMKTS:ELCPF) Critical Comparison

EDP – Energias de Portugal (OTCMKTS:ELCPF) and Consolidated Edison (NYSE:ED) are both utilities companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, analyst recommendations, earnings, dividends, profitability, risk and institutional ownership.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

31.6% of EDP – Energias de Portugal shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 66.3% of Consolidated Edison shares are held by institutional investors. 0.2% of Consolidated Edison shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and recommmendations for EDP – Energias de Portugal and Consolidated Edison, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
EDP – Energias de Portugal	0	1	2	0	2.67
Consolidated Edison	6	6	3	0	1.80

Consolidated Edison has a consensus target price of $108.93, suggesting a potential upside of 2.27%. Given Consolidated Edison’s higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Consolidated Edison is more favorable than EDP – Energias de Portugal.

Profitability

This table compares EDP – Energias de Portugal and Consolidated Edison’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
EDP – Energias de Portugal	N/A	N/A	N/A
Consolidated Edison	12.53%	8.44%	2.83%

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares EDP – Energias de Portugal and Consolidated Edison”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
EDP – Energias de Portugal	N/A	N/A	N/A	$0.28	18.03
Consolidated Edison	$16.92 billion	2.33	$2.02 billion	$6.09	17.49

Consolidated Edison has higher revenue and earnings than EDP – Energias de Portugal. Consolidated Edison is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than EDP – Energias de Portugal, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Dividends

EDP – Energias de Portugal pays an annual dividend of $0.13 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.7%. Consolidated Edison pays an annual dividend of $3.55 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.3%. EDP – Energias de Portugal pays out 48.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Consolidated Edison pays out 58.3% 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. Consolidated Edison has raised its dividend for 52 consecutive years. Consolidated Edison is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Summary

Consolidated Edison beats EDP – Energias de Portugal on 11 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About EDP – Energias de Portugal

EDP – Energias de Portugal, S.A. engages in the generation, transmission, distribution, and supply of electricity in Portugal, Spain, France, Poland, Romania, Italy, Belgium, the United Kingdom, Greece, Colombia, Brazil, North America, and internationally. It operates through Renewables, Networks, and Client Solutions & Energy Management segments. The company primarily generates and sells electricity through hydro, CCGT, coal, wind, solar, nuclear, and cogeneration and waste sources. It has an installed capacity of 28 GW; and operates 380,788 kilometers of distribution network lines. The company is also involved in the supply of natural gas. In addition, it offers engineering, laboratory tests, professional training, and energy services, as well as property management services. The company's electricity and gas customers include domestic, industrial, commercial, agricultural, and others. The company was incorporated in 1976 and is headquartered in Lisbon, Portugal.

About Consolidated Edison

Consolidated Edison, Inc., through its subsidiaries, engages in the regulated electric, gas, and steam delivery businesses in the United States. It offers electric services to approximately 3.7 million customers in New York City and Westchester County; gas to approximately 1.1 million customers in Manhattan, the Bronx, parts of Queens, and Westchester County; and steam to approximately 1,530 customers in parts of Manhattan. The company also supplies electricity to approximately 0.3 million customers in southeastern New York and northern New Jersey; and gas to approximately 0.2 million customers in southeastern New York. In addition, it operates 545 circuit miles of transmission lines; 15 transmission substations; 63 distribution substations; 90,051 in-service line transformers; 3,788 pole miles of overhead distribution lines; and 2,314 miles of underground distribution lines, as well as 4,363 miles of mains and 380,870 service lines for natural gas distribution. Further, the company invests in electric and gas transmission projects. It primarily sells electricity to industrial, commercial, residential, and government customers. Consolidated Edison, Inc. was founded in 1823 and is based in New York, New York.