Critical Analysis: CenterPoint Energy (NYSE:CNP) & AusNet Services (OTCMKTS:SAUNF)

AusNet Services (OTCMKTS:SAUNF) and CenterPoint Energy (NYSE:CNP) are both utilities companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, risk, earnings, dividends, institutional ownership, profitability and analyst recommendations.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares AusNet Services and CenterPoint Energy”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
AusNet Services	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
CenterPoint Energy	$9.36 billion	2.73	$1.05 billion	$1.70	22.83

CenterPoint Energy has higher revenue and earnings than AusNet Services.

Profitability

This table compares AusNet Services and CenterPoint Energy’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
AusNet Services	N/A	N/A	N/A
CenterPoint Energy	11.61%	11.10%	2.68%

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings and price targets for AusNet Services and CenterPoint Energy, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
AusNet Services	0	0	0	0	0.00
CenterPoint Energy	0	8	9	0	2.53

CenterPoint Energy has a consensus price target of $45.36, indicating a potential upside of 16.87%. Given CenterPoint Energy’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe CenterPoint Energy is more favorable than AusNet Services.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

91.8% of CenterPoint Energy shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.2% of CenterPoint Energy shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

CenterPoint Energy beats AusNet Services on 9 of the 9 factors compared between the two stocks.

About AusNet Services

AusNet Services Ltd. engages in the production and distribution of electricity and gas. It operates through the following segments: Electricity Distribution, Gas Distribution, Electricity Transmission, and Growth and Future Networks. The Electricity Distribution segment carries electricity from the high voltage transmission network to end users. The Gas Distribution segment handles the natural gas to commercial and residential end users. The Electricity Transmission segment owns and manages the vast majority of the electricity transmission network in Victoria. The Growth and Future Networks segment provides contracted infrastructure asset and energy services, as well as a range of asset and utility services to support the management of electricity, gas, and water networks. The company was founded in June 2005 and is headquartered in Southbank, Australia.

About CenterPoint Energy

CenterPoint Energy, Inc. operates as a public utility holding company in the United States. The company operates through two segments, Electric and Natural Gas. The Electric segment includes electric transmission and distribution services to electric customers and electric generation assets, as well as optimizes assets in the wholesale power market. The Natural Gas segment engages in the intrastate natural gas sales, and natural gas transportation and distribution for residential, commercial, industrial and institutional customers in Indiana, Louisiana, Minnesota, Mississippi, Ohio, and Texas; permanent pipeline connections through interconnects with various interstate and intrastate pipeline companies; and provides maintenance and repair services of home appliances to customers in Minnesota and home repair protection plans to natural gas customers in Indiana, Mississippi, Ohio, and Texas through a third party. It serves approximately 2,534,730 metered customers; owned 348 substations with transformer capacity of 79,719 megavolt amperes; and owned and operated 217 miles of intrastate pipeline in Louisiana and Texas. The company was founded in 1866 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas.