Reviewing Chesapeake Utilities (NYSE:CPK) and Snam (OTCMKTS:SNMRF)

Snam (OTCMKTS:SNMRF) and Chesapeake Utilities (NYSE:CPK) are both utilities companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, risk, profitability, dividends, valuation, analyst recommendations and institutional ownership.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent recommendations for Snam and Chesapeake Utilities, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Snam	2	2	1	0	1.80
Chesapeake Utilities	0	3	1	0	2.25

Chesapeake Utilities has a consensus price target of $137.00, suggesting a potential upside of 2.54%. Given Chesapeake Utilities’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Chesapeake Utilities is more favorable than Snam.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

22.6% of Snam shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 83.1% of Chesapeake Utilities shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.4% of Chesapeake Utilities shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Snam and Chesapeake Utilities”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Snam	N/A	N/A	N/A	$0.33	20.11
Chesapeake Utilities	$930.00 million	3.45	$140.30 million	$6.24	21.41

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

Profitability

This table compares Snam and Chesapeake Utilities’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Snam	N/A	N/A	N/A
Chesapeake Utilities	15.11%	9.53%	3.81%

Dividends

Snam pays an annual dividend of $0.20 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.0%. Chesapeake Utilities pays an annual dividend of $2.94 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.2%. Snam pays out 61.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Chesapeake Utilities pays out 47.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Chesapeake Utilities has increased its dividend for 22 consecutive years.

Summary

Chesapeake Utilities beats Snam on 12 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Snam

Snam S.p.A., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the operation of natural gas transport and storage infrastructure. The company operates through Transportation, Storage, Regasification, Energy Transition, and other segments. It provides natural gas transportation and dispatching services; and owns and manages liquified natural gas (LNG) regasification plants. The company also offers natural gas storage services through an integrated group of infrastructure comprising deposits, wells, gas treatment and compression plants, and the operational dispatching systems; and operates storage concessions located in Lombardy, Emilia-Romagna, and Abruzzo. In addition, it provides energy efficiency solutions for companies, condominiums, tertiary, and public administration sectors; and invests, constructs, develops, and operates biogas and biomethane plants. Further, the company offers engineering support and consulting services in technical and specialized fields; and sells automotive compressed natural gas (CNG) compressors. It operates a natural gas transportation network of approximately 38,000 kilometers in Italy, Austria, Tunisia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, France, Greece, and the United Kingdom. The company was formerly known as Snam Rete Gas S.p.A. and changed its name to Snam S.p.A. in January 2012. Snam S.p.A. was founded in 1941 and is headquartered in San Donato Milanese, Italy.

About Chesapeake Utilities

Chesapeake Utilities Corporation operates as an energy delivery company. The company operates through two segments, Regulated Energy and Unregulated Energy. The Regulated Energy segment natural gas distribution operations in central and southern Delaware, Maryland's eastern shore, and Florida; regulated natural gas transmission in the Delmarva Peninsula, Ohio, and Florida; and regulated electric distribution in northeast and northwest Florida. The Unregulated Energy segment engages in the propane operations in the Mid-Atlantic region, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Florida; unregulated natural gas transmission/supply operation in central and eastern Ohio; generation of electricity and steam; provision of compressed natural gas, liquefied natural gas, and renewable natural gas transportation and pipeline solutions primarily to utilities and pipelines in the United States; and sustainable energy investments. This segment is also involved in the provision of other unregulated services, such as energy-related merchandise sale and heating, ventilation and air conditioning, and plumbing and electrical services. Chesapeake Utilities Corporation was founded in 1859 and is headquartered in Dover, Delaware.