Analyzing United Utilities Group (OTCMKTS:UUGRY) & Companhia Paranaense de Energia (COPEL) (NYSE:ELP)

United Utilities Group (OTCMKTS:UUGRY) and Companhia Paranaense de Energia (COPEL) (NYSE:ELP) are both utilities companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, valuation, profitability, earnings, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations and risk.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares United Utilities Group and Companhia Paranaense de Energia (COPEL)”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
United Utilities Group	$2.70 billion	4.01	$337.73 million	N/A	N/A
Companhia Paranaense de Energia (COPEL)	$23.87 billion	0.27	$520.91 million	$0.17	63.62

Companhia Paranaense de Energia (COPEL) has higher revenue and earnings than United Utilities Group.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and price targets for United Utilities Group and Companhia Paranaense de Energia (COPEL), as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
United Utilities Group	0	3	2	1	2.67
Companhia Paranaense de Energia (COPEL)	0	1	0	0	2.00

Profitability

This table compares United Utilities Group and Companhia Paranaense de Energia (COPEL)’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
United Utilities Group	N/A	N/A	N/A
Companhia Paranaense de Energia (COPEL)	12.77%	11.15%	4.89%

Volatility & Risk

United Utilities Group has a beta of 0.75, indicating that its share price is 25% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Companhia Paranaense de Energia (COPEL) has a beta of 0.83, indicating that its share price is 17% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

3.8% of Companhia Paranaense de Energia (COPEL) shares are owned by institutional investors. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Dividends

United Utilities Group pays an annual dividend of $1.68 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.3%. Companhia Paranaense de Energia (COPEL) pays an annual dividend of $0.35 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.2%. Companhia Paranaense de Energia (COPEL) pays out 205.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future.

Summary

Companhia Paranaense de Energia (COPEL) beats United Utilities Group on 7 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About United Utilities Group

United Utilities Group PLC provides water and wastewater services in the United Kingdom. It is involved in the renewable energy generation, corporate trustee, financing, and property management activities; and provision of consulting, and project management services. The company operates 43,000 kilometers of water pipes; and 79,000 kilometers of wastewater pipes. United Utilities Group PLC was incorporated in 2008 and is based in Warrington, the United Kingdom.

About Companhia Paranaense de Energia (COPEL)

Companhia Paranaense de Energia – COPEL engages in the generation, transformation, distribution, and sale of electricity to industrial, residential, commercial, rural, and other customers in Brazil. The company operates through Power Generation and Transmission, Power Distribution, Power Sale, and Gas segments. It is also involved in the piped natural gas distribution. The company operates hydroelectric, wind, and thermoelectric plants; and owns and operates transmission and distribution lines. It holds concessions to distribute electricity in municipalities in the State of Paraná and in the municipality of Porto União in the State of Santa Catarina. Companhia Paranaense de Energia COPEL was founded in 1954 and is headquartered in Curitiba, Brazil.Companhia Paranaense de Energia – COPEL Operates as a subsidiary of Governo Do Estado Do Parana.