Comparing Pacific Gas & Electric (NYSE:PCG) and Caribbean Utilities (OTCMKTS:CUPUF)

Caribbean Utilities (OTCMKTS:CUPUF) and Pacific Gas & Electric (NYSE:PCG) are both utilities companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, earnings, risk, valuation, profitability, institutional ownership and dividends.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

0.1% of Caribbean Utilities shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 78.6% of Pacific Gas & Electric shares are held by institutional investors. 0.2% of Pacific Gas & Electric shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Caribbean Utilities and Pacific Gas & Electric”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Caribbean Utilities	N/A	N/A	N/A	$0.70	21.16
Pacific Gas & Electric	$24.93 billion	1.93	$2.70 billion	$1.38	13.04

Pacific Gas & Electric has higher revenue and earnings than Caribbean Utilities. Pacific Gas & Electric is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Caribbean Utilities, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares Caribbean Utilities and Pacific Gas & Electric’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Caribbean Utilities	N/A	N/A	N/A
Pacific Gas & Electric	12.25%	12.48%	2.78%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings for Caribbean Utilities and Pacific Gas & Electric, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Caribbean Utilities	0	0	0	0	0.00
Pacific Gas & Electric	0	3	7	0	2.70

Pacific Gas & Electric has a consensus target price of $22.20, indicating a potential upside of 23.37%. Given Pacific Gas & Electric’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Pacific Gas & Electric is more favorable than Caribbean Utilities.

Dividends

Caribbean Utilities pays an annual dividend of $0.66 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.5%. Pacific Gas & Electric pays an annual dividend of $0.20 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.1%. Caribbean Utilities pays out 94.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Pacific Gas & Electric pays out 14.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Pacific Gas & Electric has raised its dividend for 1 consecutive years.

Summary

Pacific Gas & Electric beats Caribbean Utilities on 12 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Caribbean Utilities

Caribbean Utilities Company, Ltd. engages in the generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity in Grand Cayman. The company generates electricity using diesel with 166 megawatts total installed capacity. It also operates nine transformer substations with approximately 436 miles of land-based high voltage transmission and distribution lines and 15 miles of high-voltage submarine cables. The company also provides telecommunication services. The company was incorporated in 1966 and is headquartered in Grand Cayman, the Cayman Islands. Caribbean Utilities Company, Ltd. is a subsidiary of Fortis Energy (Bermuda) Ltd.

About Pacific Gas & Electric

PG&E Corp. operates as a holding company, which engages in generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity and natural gas to customers. It specializes in energy, utility, power, gas, electricity, solar and sustainability. The company was founded in 1995 and is headquartered in Oakland, CA.