Financial Contrast: Alliant Energy (NASDAQ:LNT) versus Power Assets (OTCMKTS:HGKGY)

Alliant Energy (NASDAQ:LNT) and Power Assets (OTCMKTS:HGKGY) are both large-cap utilities companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, risk, earnings, dividends, valuation, profitability and analyst recommendations.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings and recommmendations for Alliant Energy and Power Assets, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Alliant Energy	1	2	5	0	2.50
Power Assets	0	0	0	0	0.00

Alliant Energy presently has a consensus target price of $71.43, suggesting a potential upside of 9.45%. Given Alliant Energy’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities analysts clearly believe Alliant Energy is more favorable than Power Assets.

Profitability

This table compares Alliant Energy and Power Assets’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Alliant Energy	19.14%	12.02%	3.65%
Power Assets	N/A	N/A	N/A

Dividends

Alliant Energy pays an annual dividend of $2.03 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.1%. Power Assets pays an annual dividend of $0.16 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.5%. Alliant Energy pays out 63.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Alliant Energy has raised its dividend for 22 consecutive years. Alliant Energy is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

79.9% of Alliant Energy shares are held by institutional investors. 0.3% of Alliant Energy shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 1.0% of Power Assets shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Alliant Energy and Power Assets”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Alliant Energy	$4.27 billion	3.92	$690.00 million	$3.18	20.52
Power Assets	$117.77 million	117.80	$784.46 million	N/A	N/A

Power Assets has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Alliant Energy.

Volatility and Risk

Alliant Energy has a beta of 0.66, meaning that its share price is 34% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Power Assets has a beta of 0.32, meaning that its share price is 68% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Alliant Energy beats Power Assets on 11 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Alliant Energy

Alliant Energy Corporation operates as a utility holding company that provides regulated electricity and natural gas services in the United States. It operates in three segments: Utility Electric Operations, Utility Gas Operations, and Utility Other. The company, through its subsidiary, Interstate Power and Light Company (IPL), primarily generates and distributes electricity, and distributes and transports natural gas to retail customers in Iowa; sells electricity to wholesale customers in Minnesota, Illinois, and Iowa; and generates and distributes steam in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Alliant Energy Corporation, through its other subsidiary, Wisconsin Power and Light Company (WPL), generates and distributes electricity, and distributes and transports natural gas to retail customers in Wisconsin; and sells electricity to wholesale customers in Wisconsin. It serves retail customers in the farming, agriculture, industrial manufacturing, chemical, packaging, and food industries, as well as wholesale customers comprising municipalities and rural electric cooperatives. In addition, the company owns and operates a short-line rail freight service in Iowa; a Mississippi River barge, rail, and truck freight terminal in Illinois; freight brokerage services; wind turbine blade recycling services; and a rail-served warehouse in Iowa. Further, it holds interests in a natural gas-fired electric generating unit near Sheboygan Falls, Wisconsin; and a wind farm located in Oklahoma. The company was formerly known as Interstate Energy Corp. and changed its name to Alliant Energy Corporation in May 1999. Alliant Energy Corporation was incorporated in 1981 and is headquartered in Madison, Wisconsin.

About Power Assets

Power Assets Holdings Limited, an investment holding company, engages in the generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity in Hong Kong, the United Kingdom, Australia, Mainland China, and internationally. It generates energy from thermal, renewable energy, and waste sources. The company also transmits and distributes oil and gas; and provides trust administration and management services. It has a generation capacity of 879 MW renewable energy/energy from waste, 5,262 MW gas fired, and 3,567 MW coal/oil fired; and operates 114,900 km of gas/oil pipeline, as well as 388,200 km of power network serving 19,790,000 customers. The company was formerly known as Hongkong Electric Holdings Limited and changed its name to Power Assets Holdings Limited in February 2011. Power Assets Holdings Limited was founded in 1889 and is based in Central, Hong Kong.