Financial Contrast: UGI (NYSE:UGI) versus Next Fuel (OTCMKTS:NXFI)

UGI (NYSE:UGI) and Next Fuel (OTCMKTS:NXFI) are both utilities companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, risk, analyst recommendations, profitability, institutional ownership, dividends and valuation.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares UGI and Next Fuel”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
UGI	$7.30 billion	1.00	$678.00 million	$2.99	11.35
Next Fuel	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A

UGI has higher revenue and earnings than Next Fuel.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and price targets for UGI and Next Fuel, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
UGI	1	1	4	0	2.50
Next Fuel	0	0	0	0	0.00

UGI presently has a consensus target price of $42.00, indicating a potential upside of 23.71%. Given UGI’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities research analysts plainly believe UGI is more favorable than Next Fuel.

Profitability

This table compares UGI and Next Fuel’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
UGI	9.20%	12.80%	4.15%
Next Fuel	N/A	N/A	N/A

Institutional and Insider Ownership

82.3% of UGI shares are held by institutional investors. 0.6% of UGI shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

UGI beats Next Fuel on 9 of the 9 factors compared between the two stocks.

About UGI

UGI Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, distributes, stores, transports, and markets energy products and related services in the United States and internationally. The company operates through four segments: AmeriGas Propane, UGI International, Midstream & Marketing, and UGI Utilities. It distributes propane to approximately 1.3 million residential, commercial/industrial, motor fuel, agricultural, and wholesale customers through 1,400 propane distribution locations. The company distributes liquefied petroleum gases (LPG) to residential, commercial, industrial, agricultural, wholesale and automobile fuel customers; and provides logistics, storage, and other services to third-party LPG distributors. In addition, it engages in the retail sale of natural gas, liquid fuels, and electricity to approximately 12,400 residential, commercial, and industrial customers at 42,000 locations. Further, the company distributes natural gas to approximately 677,000 customers in eastern and central Pennsylvania counties through its distribution system of approximately 12,500 miles of gas mains; and supplies electricity to approximately 62,600 customers in northeastern Pennsylvania through 2,560 miles of lines and 14 substations. Additionally, it operates electric generation facilities, which include coal-fired, landfill gas-fueled, solar-powered, and natural gas-fueled facilities; a natural gas liquefaction, storage, and vaporization facility; propane storage and propane-air mixing stations; and rail transshipment terminals. It manages natural gas pipeline and storage contracts; develops, owns, and operates pipelines, gathering infrastructure, and gas storage facilities. UGI Corporation was incorporated in 1882 and is headquartered in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania.

About Next Fuel

Next Fuel, Inc. provides water consulting, filtration technology, and services to the oil and gas industry, as well as other industrial water users in agriculture and food processing in the United States. The company offers low energy input pervaporation technology to clean up water used in oil and natural gas production, including Frack drilling; carbon dioxide to product technology that targets the emerging market of carbon footprint elimination; and disc filtration technology to remove high concentrations of suspended solids with particle sizes ranging from 200 microns to 5 microns in size. It also provides water treatment solutions related to new and existing systems. Next Fuel, Inc. is based in Sheridan, Wyoming.