Hawaiian Electric Industries (NYSE:HE – Get Free Report) and Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL – Get Free Report) are both utilities companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, analyst recommendations, earnings, risk, profitability, valuation and institutional ownership.
Institutional & Insider Ownership
59.9% of Hawaiian Electric Industries shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 78.4% of Xcel Energy shares are held by institutional investors. 0.2% of Hawaiian Electric Industries shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.2% of Xcel Energy shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.
Profitability
This table compares Hawaiian Electric Industries and Xcel Energy’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Hawaiian Electric Industries | 6.89% | 7.90% | 1.48% |
| Xcel Energy | 15.28% | 10.65% | 2.97% |
Valuation and Earnings
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Hawaiian Electric Industries | $3.28 billion | 0.49 | $126.28 million | $1.30 | 7.09 |
| Xcel Energy | $14.62 billion | 3.02 | $2.02 billion | $3.65 | 19.36 |
Xcel Energy has higher revenue and earnings than Hawaiian Electric Industries. Hawaiian Electric Industries is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Xcel Energy, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Analyst Recommendations
This is a breakdown of recent ratings and price targets for Hawaiian Electric Industries and Xcel Energy, as reported by MarketBeat.com.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Hawaiian Electric Industries | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1.40 |
| Xcel Energy | 0 | 1 | 14 | 2 | 3.06 |
Hawaiian Electric Industries presently has a consensus target price of $9.25, suggesting a potential upside of 0.31%. Xcel Energy has a consensus target price of $92.06, suggesting a potential upside of 30.28%. Given Xcel Energy’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Xcel Energy is more favorable than Hawaiian Electric Industries.
Dividends
Hawaiian Electric Industries pays an annual dividend of $1.44 per share and has a dividend yield of 15.6%. Xcel Energy pays an annual dividend of $2.37 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.4%. Hawaiian Electric Industries pays out 110.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Xcel Energy pays out 64.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Xcel Energy has raised its dividend for 22 consecutive years.
Risk and Volatility
Hawaiian Electric Industries has a beta of 0.48, indicating that its stock price is 52% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Xcel Energy has a beta of 0.39, indicating that its stock price is 61% less volatile than the S&P 500.
Summary
Xcel Energy beats Hawaiian Electric Industries on 15 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.
About Hawaiian Electric Industries
Hawaiian Electric Industries, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the electric utility businesses in the United States. It operates in three segments: Electric Utility, Bank, and Other. The Electric Utility segment engages in the production, purchase, transmission, distribution, and sale of electricity in the islands of Oahu, Hawaii, Maui, Lanai, and Molokai. Its renewable energy sources and potential sources include wind, solar, photovoltaic, geothermal, wave, hydroelectric, municipal waste, and other biofuels. This segment serves suburban communities, resorts, the United States Armed Forces installations, and agricultural operations. The Bank segment operates a federally chartered savings bank that offers banking and other financial services to consumers and businesses, including savings and checking accounts; and loans comprising residential and commercial real estate, residential mortgage, construction and development, multifamily residential and commercial real estate, consumer, and commercial loans. The Other segment invests in non-regulated renewable energy and sustainable infrastructure in the State of Hawaii. Hawaiian Electric Industries, Inc. was founded in 1891 and is headquartered in Honolulu, Hawaii.
About Xcel Energy
Xcel Energy Inc., through its subsidiaries, engages in the generation, purchasing, transmission, distribution, and sale of electricity. It operates through Regulated Electric Utility, Regulated Natural Gas Utility, and All Other segments. The company generates electricity through wind, nuclear, hydroelectric, biomass, and solar energy sources, as well as coal, natural gas, oil, wood, and refuse-derived fuels. It also purchases, transports, distributes, and sells natural gas to retail customers, as well as transports customer-owned natural gas. In addition, the company develops and leases natural gas pipelines, and storage and compression facilities; and invests in rental housing projects and nonregulated assets, as well as procures equipment for the construction of renewable generation facilities. It serves residential, commercial, and industrial customers in the portions of Colorado, Michigan, Minnesota, New Mexico, North Dakota, South Dakota, Texas, and Wisconsin. The company was incorporated in 1909 and is headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Receive News & Ratings for Hawaiian Electric Industries Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Hawaiian Electric Industries and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
