AGL Energy (AGLNF) versus The Competition Critical Analysis

AGL Energy (OTCMKTS:AGLNF) is one of 141 publicly-traded companies in the “Independent Power & Renewable Electricity Producers” industry, but how does it contrast to its competitors? We will compare AGL Energy to similar companies based on the strength of its institutional ownership, risk, valuation, profitability, analyst recommendations, dividends and earnings.

Profitability

This table compares AGL Energy and its competitors’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
AGL Energy	N/A	N/A	N/A
AGL Energy Competitors	-38.57%	13.37%	0.70%

Institutional and Insider Ownership

15.3% of AGL Energy shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 36.0% of shares of all “Independent Power & Renewable Electricity Producers” companies are held by institutional investors. 21.5% of shares of all “Independent Power & Renewable Electricity Producers” companies are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares AGL Energy and its competitors gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Net Income	Price/Earnings Ratio
AGL Energy	N/A	N/A	5.83
AGL Energy Competitors	$36.26 billion	$832.25 million	19.73

AGL Energy’s competitors have higher revenue and earnings than AGL Energy. AGL Energy is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than its competitors, indicating that it is currently more affordable than other companies in its industry.

Dividends

AGL Energy pays an annual dividend of $0.60 per share and has a dividend yield of 10.2%. AGL Energy pays out 59.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. As a group, “Independent Power & Renewable Electricity Producers” companies pay a dividend yield of 6.6% and pay out 261.4% of their earnings in the form of a dividend. AGL Energy is clearly a better dividend stock than its competitors, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings for AGL Energy and its competitors, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
AGL Energy	0	0	1	0	3.00
AGL Energy Competitors	933	2933	3718	180	2.41

As a group, “Independent Power & Renewable Electricity Producers” companies have a potential upside of 150.72%. Given AGL Energy’s competitors higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe AGL Energy has less favorable growth aspects than its competitors.

Summary

AGL Energy competitors beat AGL Energy on 8 of the 13 factors compared.

AGL Energy Company Profile

AGL Energy Limited supplies energy and other essential services to residential, small and large businesses, and wholesale customers in Australia. It operates through three segments: Customer Markets, Integrated Energy, and Investments. The company engages in retailing of electricity, gas, broadband, mobile, voice, solar, and energy products and services; and operates power generation portfolio and other assets including coal, gas and renewable generation, natural gas storage and production, and development projects. It also offers renewable energy schemes; and controls dispatch of owned and contracted generation assets, gas offtake agreements, and associated portfolio of energy hedging products. In addition, the company offers coal and gas-fired generation; and renewable energy sources, such as wind, hydro and solar, batteries and other firming technology; and gas production and storage assets. AGL Energy Limited was founded in 1837 and is based in Sydney, Australia.