Critical Survey: Chunghwa Telecom (NYSE:CHT) versus Vivendi (OTCMKTS:VIVHY)

Chunghwa Telecom (NYSE:CHT) and Vivendi (OTCMKTS:VIVHY) are both utilities companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, analyst recommendations, profitability, dividends, valuation, institutional ownership and earnings.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

2.1% of Chunghwa Telecom shares are held by institutional investors. 1.0% of Chunghwa Telecom shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Dividends

Chunghwa Telecom pays an annual dividend of $1.30 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.0%. Vivendi pays an annual dividend of $0.03 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.3%. Chunghwa Telecom pays out 80.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future.

Volatility and Risk

Chunghwa Telecom has a beta of 0.29, meaning that its share price is 71% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Vivendi has a beta of 0.81, meaning that its share price is 19% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Chunghwa Telecom and Vivendi’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Chunghwa Telecom	16.37%	9.85%	7.29%
Vivendi	N/A	N/A	N/A

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent recommendations and price targets for Chunghwa Telecom and Vivendi, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Chunghwa Telecom	0	2	0	0	2.00
Vivendi	0	1	0	0	2.00

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Chunghwa Telecom and Vivendi”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Chunghwa Telecom	$7.58 billion	4.41	$1.23 billion	$1.61	26.80
Vivendi	$347.26 million	6.52	$22.63 million	N/A	N/A

Chunghwa Telecom has higher revenue and earnings than Vivendi.

Summary

Chunghwa Telecom beats Vivendi on 8 of the 11 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Chunghwa Telecom

Chunghwa Telecom Co., Ltd., together with its subsidiaries, provides telecommunication services in Taiwan and internationally. It operates through Consumer Business, Enterprise Business, International Business, and Others segments. The company offers local, domestic long distance, and international long distance fixed-line telephone services; mobile services such as prepaid and postpaid plans; broadband plans; and internet and data services. Chunghwa Telecom Co., Ltd. was incorporated in 1996 and is headquartered in Taipei City, Taiwan.

About Vivendi

Vivendi SE operates as an entertainment, media, and communication company in France, the rest of Europe, the Americas, Asia/Oceania, and Africa. It operates through Canal+ Group, Lagardère, Havas, Prisma Media, Gameloft, Vivendi Village, New Initiatives, and Generosity and Solidarity segments. The Canal+ Group segment publishes and distributes premium and thematic pay-TV and free-to-air channels; and produces, sells, and distributes movies and TV series. The Lagardère segment engages in the publishing, media, and travel retail activities. The Havas segment includes communications disciplines, such as creativity, media expertise, and healthcare/wellness. The Prisma Media segment publishes French magazines and online videos. The Gameloft segment engages in the creation and publishing of downloadable video games for various console-PC-mobile platforms, tablets, triple-play boxes, and smart TVs. The Vivendi Village segment provides ticketing services and live performances through Olympia production, festival production, and venues. The New Initiatives segment operates Dailymotion, a video content aggregation and distribution platform, as well as develops ultra-high-speed Internet service. The Generosity and Solidarity segment operates CanalOlympia; and Vivendi Foundation, a Create Joy solidarity program, which supports initial and professional training projects. The company was founded in 1853 and is headquartered in Paris, France.