Head-To-Head Survey: Central Puerto (CEPU) & Its Peers

Central Puerto (NYSE:CEPU) is one of 141 public companies in the “Independent Power & Renewable Electricity Producers” industry, but how does it contrast to its rivals? We will compare Central Puerto to related businesses based on the strength of its dividends, risk, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, earnings, valuation and profitability.

Volatility & Risk

Central Puerto has a beta of 0.85, suggesting that its share price is 15% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Central Puerto’s rivals have a beta of 0.63, suggesting that their average share price is 37% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

Central Puerto pays an annual dividend of $0.90 per share and has a dividend yield of 8.8%. Central Puerto pays out 30.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. As a group, “Independent Power & Renewable Electricity Producers” companies pay a dividend yield of 6.3% and pay out 188.1% of their earnings in the form of a dividend. Central Puerto is clearly a better dividend stock than its rivals, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Profitability

This table compares Central Puerto and its rivals’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Central Puerto	22.93%	15.75%	10.56%
Central Puerto Competitors	-879.52%	9.80%	0.64%

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Central Puerto and its rivals revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Net Income	Price/Earnings Ratio
Central Puerto	$782.60 million	$277.08 million	3.43
Central Puerto Competitors	$6.35 billion	$831.21 million	-4.19

Central Puerto’s rivals have higher revenue and earnings than Central Puerto. Central Puerto is trading at a higher price-to-earnings ratio than its rivals, indicating that it is currently more expensive than other companies in its industry.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings for Central Puerto and its rivals, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Central Puerto	0	1	1	0	2.50
Central Puerto Competitors	956	2991	3828	191	2.41

Central Puerto currently has a consensus price target of $28.00, indicating a potential upside of 172.24%. As a group, “Independent Power & Renewable Electricity Producers” companies have a potential upside of 136.40%. Given Central Puerto’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Central Puerto is more favorable than its rivals.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

3.0% of Central Puerto shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 35.2% of shares of all “Independent Power & Renewable Electricity Producers” companies are held by institutional investors. 0.1% of Central Puerto shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 21.7% of shares of all “Independent Power & Renewable Electricity Producers” companies are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

Central Puerto beats its rivals on 10 of the 15 factors compared.

About Central Puerto

Central Puerto S.A. is an Argentina-based electric power generation company. It operates power plants that produce electricity for the country’s wholesale electricity market, serving utilities, businesses and other users through Argentina’s electricity system. The company’s generation portfolio includes thermal, hydroelectric and renewable energy assets, including wind and solar facilities. Its thermal plants use fuels such as natural gas, while its renewable operations add electricity from non-fossil sources to the portfolio.