Head-To-Head Review: Black Hills (NYSE:BKH) and AusNet Services (OTCMKTS:SAUNF)

AusNet Services (OTCMKTS:SAUNF) and Black Hills (NYSE:BKH) are both utilities companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, earnings, valuation, institutional ownership, risk, analyst recommendations and profitability.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares AusNet Services and Black Hills”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
AusNet Services	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Black Hills	$2.31 billion	2.40	$291.60 million	$3.96	18.37

Black Hills has higher revenue and earnings than AusNet Services.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

86.7% of Black Hills shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.6% of Black Hills shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings for AusNet Services and Black Hills, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
AusNet Services	0	0	0	0	0.00
Black Hills	0	0	6	0	3.00

Black Hills has a consensus price target of $81.67, suggesting a potential upside of 12.26%. Given Black Hills’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Black Hills is more favorable than AusNet Services.

Profitability

This table compares AusNet Services and Black Hills’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
AusNet Services	N/A	N/A	N/A
Black Hills	13.01%	7.98%	2.93%

Summary

Black Hills beats AusNet Services on 9 of the 9 factors compared between the two stocks.

About AusNet Services

AusNet Services Ltd. engages in the production and distribution of electricity and gas. It operates through the following segments: Electricity Distribution, Gas Distribution, Electricity Transmission, and Growth and Future Networks. The Electricity Distribution segment carries electricity from the high voltage transmission network to end users. The Gas Distribution segment handles the natural gas to commercial and residential end users. The Electricity Transmission segment owns and manages the vast majority of the electricity transmission network in Victoria. The Growth and Future Networks segment provides contracted infrastructure asset and energy services, as well as a range of asset and utility services to support the management of electricity, gas, and water networks. The company was founded in June 2005 and is headquartered in Southbank, Australia.

About Black Hills

Black Hills Corporation, through its subsidiaries, operates as an electric and natural gas utility company in the United States. The company operates in two segments: Electric Utilities and Gas Utilities. The Electric Utilities segment generates, transmits, and distributes electricity to approximately 222,000 electric utility customers in Colorado, Montana, South Dakota, and Wyoming; and owns and operates 1,394 megawatts of generation capacity and 9,106 miles of electric transmission and distribution lines. The Gas Utilities segment distributes natural gas to approximately 1,116,000 natural gas utility customers in Arkansas, Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, and Wyoming; owns and operates 4,663 miles of intrastate gas transmission pipelines; 42,514 miles of gas distribution mains and service lines; seven natural gas storage sites; and approximately 50,000 horsepower of compression and 516 miles of gathering lines. It also constructs and maintains customer owned gas infrastructure facilities for gas transportation customers; and provides appliance repair services to residential utility customers, as well as electrical system construction services to large industrial customers. In addition, the company produces electric power through wind, natural gas, and coal-fired generating plants; and coal at its coal mine located near Gillette, Wyoming. Black Hills Corporation was incorporated in 1941 and is headquartered in Rapid City, South Dakota.