Analyzing Veolia Environnement (OTCMKTS:VEOEY) and Suez (OTCMKTS:SZEVY)

Suez (OTCMKTS:SZEVY) and Veolia Environnement (OTCMKTS:VEOEY) 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, valuation, profitability, institutional ownership, risk and earnings.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Suez and Veolia Environnement”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Suez	$20.18 billion	0.40	$393.90 million	$0.32	20.30
Veolia Environnement	$50.22 billion	0.58	$1.38 billion	N/A	N/A

Veolia Environnement has higher revenue and earnings than Suez.

Profitability

This table compares Suez and Veolia Environnement’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Suez	N/A	N/A	N/A
Veolia Environnement	N/A	N/A	N/A

Dividends

Suez pays an annual dividend of $0.17 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.6%. Veolia Environnement pays an annual dividend of $0.59 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.0%. Suez pays out 53.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings for Suez and Veolia Environnement, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Suez	0	0	0	0	0.00
Veolia Environnement	0	2	0	0	2.00

Insider and Institutional Ownership

0.1% of Suez shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 0.2% of Veolia Environnement shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.0% of Veolia Environnement shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Volatility & Risk

Suez has a beta of 0.9, suggesting that its share price is 10% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Veolia Environnement has a beta of 0.93, suggesting that its share price is 7% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Veolia Environnement beats Suez on 9 of the 9 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Suez

Suez SA, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the water and waste cycle management business in France, Europe, and internationally. The company operates through five segments: Water Europe, Recycling and Recovery Europe, International, Water Technologies & Solutions, and Other. It provides water distribution and treatment services to individuals, local authorities, and industrial clients; and waste collection and treatment services, including collection, sorting, recycling, composting, energy recovery, and landfilling for non-hazardous and hazardous waste for local authorities and industrial clients. The company also offers water network management services; technical assistance, operation, cleaning, and maintenance services; and spare parts, refurbishment, and associated services, as well as designs and operates storage facilities for hazardous and non-hazardous residual waste. In addition, it provides resource management consulting services; engineering and construction contracts and other services; and digital technology solutions for resource and asset protection, as well as deconstructs industrial sites in the end-of-life phase and decontaminates soil and water tables. Additionally, the company generates waste wood biomass energy, as well as engages in plastic recycling activities. It serves food and beverage, chemical and pharmaceutical, construction, mining and metal, oil and gas, power, pulp and paper, electronic and electronic products, leisure, and healthcare industries, as well as automotive, transport, and aeronautic sectors. Suez SA was founded in 1858 and is headquartered in Paris, France.

About Veolia Environnement

Veolia Environnement SA designs and provides water, waste, and energy management solutions worldwide. It operates through France and Special Waste Europe; Europe excluding France; Rest of the World; Water Technologies; and Other segments. The company is involved in resource management; customer relationship management; drinking water treatment and distribution; wastewater treatment; design and construction of treatment and network infrastructure; and sale of water treatment equipment, technologies, and facilities. It provides waste collection, product recovery and waste-to-energy processing, including sale of recycled products; dismantling and remediation; hazardous waste processing; urban cleaning; and industrial maintenance and cleaning services. In addition, the company engages in the operation and maintenance of heating and cooling networks; optimization of industrial utilities, such as steam generation, cooling, electricity, compressed air; installation and maintenance of production equipment; development of energy services to reduce energy consumption and CO2 emissions of buildings; integrated services for building management, and the production of electricity from biomass, as well as provides thermal and multi-technical services. It serves industrial and service sector companies, public authorities, and individuals. The company was formerly known as Vivendi Environnement and changed its name to Veolia Environnement SA in January 2003. Veolia Environnement SA was founded in 1853 and is headquartered in Paris, France.