Comparing DTE Energy (NYSE:DTE) and Brookfield Infrastructure Partners (NYSE:BIP)

Brookfield Infrastructure Partners (NYSE:BIP) and DTE Energy (NYSE:DTE) are both large-cap utilities companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, profitability, dividends, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, earnings and risk.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Brookfield Infrastructure Partners and DTE Energy”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Brookfield Infrastructure Partners	$23.10 billion	0.74	$771.00 million	$0.62	59.98
DTE Energy	$16.46 billion	1.72	$1.46 billion	$6.32	21.50

DTE Energy has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Brookfield Infrastructure Partners. DTE Energy is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Brookfield Infrastructure Partners, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

57.9% of Brookfield Infrastructure Partners shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 76.1% of DTE Energy shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.6% of DTE Energy shares are owned 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 Brookfield Infrastructure Partners and DTE Energy’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Brookfield Infrastructure Partners	3.51%	2.63%	0.71%
DTE Energy	8.00%	12.19%	2.74%

Volatility and Risk

Brookfield Infrastructure Partners has a beta of 1.03, suggesting that its share price is 3% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, DTE Energy has a beta of 0.37, suggesting that its share price is 63% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings for Brookfield Infrastructure Partners and DTE Energy, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Brookfield Infrastructure Partners	0	3	8	0	2.73
DTE Energy	0	5	9	1	2.73

Brookfield Infrastructure Partners presently has a consensus price target of $45.33, indicating a potential upside of 21.90%. DTE Energy has a consensus price target of $157.00, indicating a potential upside of 15.54%. Given Brookfield Infrastructure Partners’ higher probable upside, equities analysts plainly believe Brookfield Infrastructure Partners is more favorable than DTE Energy.

Dividends

Brookfield Infrastructure Partners pays an annual dividend of $1.82 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.9%. DTE Energy pays an annual dividend of $4.66 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.4%. Brookfield Infrastructure Partners pays out 293.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. DTE Energy pays out 73.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Brookfield Infrastructure Partners has raised its dividend for 18 consecutive years and DTE Energy has raised its dividend for 16 consecutive years. Brookfield Infrastructure Partners is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Summary

DTE Energy beats Brookfield Infrastructure Partners on 12 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Brookfield Infrastructure Partners

Brookfield Infrastructure Partners L.P. owns and operates utilities, transport, midstream, and data businesses in North and South America, Europe, and the Asia Pacific. The company's Utilities segment operates approximately 2,900 km of electricity transmission lines; 4,200 km of natural gas pipelines; 8.1 million electricity and natural gas connections; and 0.6 million long-term contracted sub-metering services. This segment also offers heating, cooling, and energy solutions; gas distribution; water heaters; and heating, ventilation, and air conditioner rental, as well as other home services. Its Transport segment offers transportation, storage, and handling services for merchandise goods, commodities, and passengers through a network of approximately 22,000 km of track; 5,500 km of track network; 9,800 km of rail; and 3,300 km of motorways. The company's Midstream segment offers natural gas transmission, gathering and processing, and storage services through approximately 15,000 km of natural gas transmission pipelines; 570 billion cubic feet of natural gas storage; 17 natural gas processing plants; and 10,600 km of gas gathering pipelines, as well as 525,000 tonnes polypropylene production capacity. Its Data segment operates approximately 228,000 operational telecom towers; approximately 54,000 kilometers of fiber optic cables; approximately 1 million fiber-to-the-premise connections; two semiconductor manufacturing facilities; and 70 distributed antenna systems, as well as 135 data centers and 750 megawatts of critical load capacity and an additional approximate 670 megawatts of contracted capacity. The company was incorporated in 2007 and is based in Hamilton, Bermuda. Brookfield Infrastructure Partners L.P. operates as a subsidiary of Brookfield Corporation.

About DTE Energy

DTE Energy Company engages in the utility operations. The company's Electric segment generates, purchases, distributes, and sells electricity to various residential, commercial, and industrial customers in southeastern Michigan. It generates electricity through coal-fired plants, hydroelectric pumped storage, and nuclear plants, as well as wind and solar assets. This segment owns and operates distribution substations and line transformers. The company's Gas segment purchases, stores, transports, distributes, and sells natural gas to various residential, commercial, and industrial customers throughout Michigan; and sells storage and transportation capacity. Its DTE Vantage segment offers metallurgical and petroleum coke to steel and other industries; and power generation, steam production, chilled water production, and wastewater treatment services, as well as air supplies compressed air to industrial customers. Its Energy Trading segment engages in power, natural gas, and environmental marketing and trading; structured transactions; and the optimization of contracted natural gas pipeline transportation and storage positions. The company was founded in 1849 and is based in Detroit, Michigan.