Comparing Premier (OTCMKTS:PRHL) and Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK)

Premier (OTCMKTS:PRHL) and Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) are both utilities companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, analyst recommendations, earnings, institutional ownership, valuation, profitability and risk.

Profitability

This table compares Premier and Duke Energy’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Premier	N/A	N/A	N/A
Duke Energy	15.76%	9.98%	2.69%

Insider & Institutional Ownership

65.3% of Duke Energy shares are held by institutional investors. 2.2% of Premier shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.1% of Duke Energy shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Premier and Duke Energy”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Premier	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Duke Energy	$30.36 billion	3.10	$4.52 billion	$6.36	19.01

Duke Energy has higher revenue and earnings than Premier.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current recommendations for Premier and Duke Energy, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Premier	0	0	0	0	0.00
Duke Energy	1	6	10	1	2.61

Duke Energy has a consensus price target of $135.06, suggesting a potential upside of 11.72%. Given Duke Energy’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Duke Energy is more favorable than Premier.

Summary

Duke Energy beats Premier on 9 of the 10 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Premier

Premier Holding Corp. is a holding company, which engages in the provision of energy solutions. The firm operates through its subsidiary companies, Energy Efficiency Experts, Inc. (E3) and The Power Company USA, LLC (TPC). It enables customers to reduce energy consumption, lower operating and maintenance costs, and realize environmental benefits. The company was founded on October 18, 1971 and is headquartered in Tustin, CA.

About Duke Energy

Duke Energy Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an energy company in the United States. It operates through two segments: Electric Utilities and Infrastructure (EU&I), and Gas Utilities and Infrastructure (GU&I). The EU&I segment generates, transmits, distributes, and sells electricity in the Carolinas, Florida, and the Midwest. It generates electricity through coal, hydroelectric, natural gas, oil, solar and wind sources, renewables, and nuclear fuel. This segment also engages in the wholesale of electricity to municipalities, electric cooperative utilities, and load-serving entities. The GU&I segment distributes natural gas to residential, commercial, industrial, and power generation natural gas customers; and invests in pipeline transmission projects, renewable natural gas projects, and natural gas storage facilities. The company was formerly known as Duke Energy Holding Corp. and changed its name to Duke Energy Corporation in April 2006. Duke Energy Corporation was founded in 1904 and is headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina.