Pampa Energia (NYSE:PAM) and Ameren (NYSE:AEE) Head to Head Review

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) and Pampa Energia (NYSE:PAM) are both utilities companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, analyst recommendations, earnings, dividends, profitability, risk and institutional ownership.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and recommmendations for Ameren and Pampa Energia, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Ameren	0	3	10	0	2.77
Pampa Energia	0	3	2	0	2.40

Ameren presently has a consensus target price of $120.17, suggesting a potential upside of 20.92%. Pampa Energia has a consensus target price of $105.00, suggesting a potential upside of 34.70%. Given Pampa Energia’s higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Pampa Energia is more favorable than Ameren.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

79.1% of Ameren shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 12.8% of Pampa Energia shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.3% of Ameren shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 55.5% of Pampa Energia shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares Ameren and Pampa Energia’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Ameren	17.86%	10.95%	3.00%
Pampa Energia	23.58%	15.33%	8.26%

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Ameren and Pampa Energia”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Ameren	$8.80 billion	3.13	$1.46 billion	$5.68	17.50
Pampa Energia	$2.00 billion	2.10	$377.00 million	$10.53	7.40

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

Volatility and Risk

Ameren has a beta of 0.46, indicating that its share price is 54% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Pampa Energia has a beta of 0.93, indicating that its share price is 7% less volatile than the S&P 500.

About Ameren

Ameren Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a public utility holding company in the United States. The company operates through four segments: Ameren Missouri, Ameren Illinois Electric Distribution, Ameren Illinois Natural Gas, and Ameren Transmission. It engages in the rate-regulated electric generation, transmission, and distribution activities; and rate-regulated natural gas distribution business. In addition, the company generates electricity through coal, nuclear, and natural gas, as well as renewable sources, such as hydroelectric, wind, methane gas, and solar. It serves residential, commercial, and industrial customers. The company was founded in 1881 and is headquartered in Saint Louis, Missouri.

About Pampa Energia

Pampa Energía S.A. operates as an integrated power company in Argentina. The company operates through Electricity Generation, Oil and Gas, Petrochemicals, and Holding and Other Business segments. It generates electricity through thermal plants, hydroelectric plants, and wind farms with a 5,332 megawatt (MW) installed capacity. The company also explores for and produces oil and gas in the provinces of Neuquén and Río Negro. In addition, it produces petrochemicals, such as styrene, synthetic rubber, and polystyrene. Further, the company operates and maintains a 22,391 km high-voltage electricity transmission network in Argentina. Additionally, it holds a concession for the transportation of natural gas with 9,248 km of gas pipelines in the center, west, and south of Argentina; and processes and sells natural gas liquids in Bahía Blanca in the Province of Buenos Aires, as well as offers related advisory services. The company was formerly known as Pampa Holding S.A. and changed its name to Pampa Energía S.A. in September 2008. Pampa Energía S.A. was incorporated in 1945 and is based in Buenos Aires, Argentina.