Centuri (NYSE:CTRI) & NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) Critical Analysis

NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) and Centuri (NYSE:CTRI) are both utilities companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, risk, earnings, profitability, dividends, valuation and analyst recommendations.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current recommendations and price targets for NextEra Energy and Centuri, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
NextEra Energy	0	4	13	3	2.95
Centuri	2	1	2	0	2.00

NextEra Energy currently has a consensus target price of $91.56, suggesting a potential upside of 15.05%. Centuri has a consensus target price of $23.25, suggesting a potential downside of 10.89%. Given NextEra Energy’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities research analysts plainly believe NextEra Energy is more favorable than Centuri.

Volatility & Risk

NextEra Energy has a beta of 0.74, indicating that its stock price is 26% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Centuri has a beta of 0.95, indicating that its stock price is 5% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

78.7% of NextEra Energy shares are held by institutional investors. 0.2% of NextEra Energy shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.2% of Centuri shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares NextEra Energy and Centuri’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
NextEra Energy	24.72%	12.42%	3.88%
Centuri	0.09%	6.37%	1.71%

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares NextEra Energy and Centuri”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
NextEra Energy	$24.75 billion	6.70	$6.95 billion	$3.14	25.34
Centuri	$2.84 billion	0.91	-$6.72 million	$0.03	869.67

NextEra Energy has higher revenue and earnings than Centuri. NextEra Energy is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Centuri, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

NextEra Energy beats Centuri on 13 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About NextEra Energy

NextEra Energy, Inc., through its subsidiaries, generates, transmits, distributes, and sells electric power to retail and wholesale customers in North America. The company generates electricity through wind, solar, nuclear,natural gas, and other clean energy. It also develops, constructs, and operates long-term contracted assets that consists of clean energy solutions, such as renewable generation facilities, battery storage projects, and electric transmission facilities; sells energy commodities; and owns, develops, constructs, manages and operates electric generation facilities in wholesale energy markets. The company had approximately 33,276 megawatts of net generating capacity; approximately 90,000 circuit miles of transmission and distribution lines; and 883 substations. It serves approximately 12 million people through approximately 5.9 million customer accounts in the east and lower west coasts of Florida. The company was formerly known as FPL Group, Inc. and changed its name to NextEra Energy, Inc. in 2010. NextEra Energy, Inc. was founded in 1925 and is headquartered in Juno Beach, Florida.

About Centuri

Centuri Holdings, Inc. operates as a utility infrastructure services company in North America. It offers gas utility services, including maintenance, repair, installation, and replacement services for natural gas local distribution utility companies with focus on the modernization of infrastructure. The company also provides electric utility services comprising design, maintenance and repair, upgrade, and expansion services for transmission and distribution infrastructure. Its customers include electric, gas, and combination utility companies, as well as serves end markets, such as renewable energy and 5G datacom. The company was founded in 1909 and is headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona. Centuri Holdings, Inc. is a subsidiary of Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc.