NorthWestern (NASDAQ:NWE) and Elster Group (OTCMKTS:ELTTY) Critical Survey

Elster Group (OTCMKTS:ELTTY) and NorthWestern (NASDAQ:NWE) are both utilities companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, risk, earnings, profitability, institutional ownership, valuation and dividends.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

96.1% of NorthWestern shares are held by institutional investors. 0.9% of NorthWestern shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings for Elster Group and NorthWestern, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Elster Group	0	0	0	0	0.00
NorthWestern	0	3	3	0	2.50

NorthWestern has a consensus price target of $73.30, suggesting a potential upside of 4.24%. Given NorthWestern’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe NorthWestern is more favorable than Elster Group.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Elster Group and NorthWestern”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Elster Group	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
NorthWestern	$1.69 billion	2.56	$181.09 million	$2.77	25.39

NorthWestern has higher revenue and earnings than Elster Group.

Profitability

This table compares Elster Group and NorthWestern’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Elster Group	N/A	N/A	N/A
NorthWestern	10.13%	8.03%	2.73%

Summary

NorthWestern beats Elster Group on 9 of the 9 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Elster Group

Elster Group SE (Elster) is a provider of gas, electricity and water meters and related communications, networking and software solutions with operations in more than 30 countries. Its portfolio of products and solutions are used to measure gas, electricity and water consumption. The Company operates in three segments: Gas, Electricity and Water. The Gas business provides products and solutions for gas metering, gas utilization and distribution. The Electricity business provides electronic single-phase and polyphase meters for residential and commercial and industrial applications. The Water segment provides brass and polymer-based mechanical and electronic meters for residential and commercial and industrial applications, including single-jet and multi-jet flow meters or volumetric meters.

About NorthWestern

NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. provides electricity and natural gas to residential, commercial, and various industrial customers. It generates, purchases, transmits, and distributes electricity; and produces, purchases, stores, transmits, and distributes natural gas, as well as owns municipal franchises to provide natural gas service in the communities. The company operates 6,600 miles of electric transmission and 18,674 miles of electric distribution lines with approximately 395 transmission and distribution substations; and 2,235 miles of natural gas transmission and 5,155 miles of natural gas distribution lines with approximately 133 city gate stations in Montana. It also operates 1,310 miles of electric transmission and 2,365 miles of electric distribution lines in South Dakota with approximately 124 transmission and distribution substations; and 55 miles of natural gas transmission and 2,573 miles of natural gas distribution lines in South Dakota and Nebraska. The company provides electricity and/or natural gas to approximately 775,300 customers in Montana, South Dakota, Nebraska, and Yellowstone National Park. NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. was founded in 1923 and is based in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.