Iberdrola (OTCMKTS:IBDRY) versus Companhia Paranaense de Energia (COPEL) (NYSE:ELP) Critical Review

Iberdrola (OTCMKTS:IBDRY) and Companhia Paranaense de Energia (COPEL) (NYSE:ELP) are both utilities companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, risk, profitability, earnings, institutional ownership, valuation and dividends.

Risk and Volatility

Iberdrola has a beta of 0.79, meaning that its share price is 21% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Companhia Paranaense de Energia (COPEL) has a beta of 0.83, meaning that its share price is 17% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

0.0% of Iberdrola shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 3.8% of Companhia Paranaense de Energia (COPEL) shares are owned by institutional investors. 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.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Iberdrola and Companhia Paranaense de Energia (COPEL)”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Iberdrola	$48.42 billion	2.64	$6.07 billion	$3.31	23.15
Companhia Paranaense de Energia (COPEL)	$4.20 billion	1.31	$520.91 million	$0.17	54.29

Iberdrola has higher revenue and earnings than Companhia Paranaense de Energia (COPEL). Iberdrola is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Companhia Paranaense de Energia (COPEL), indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares Iberdrola and Companhia Paranaense de Energia (COPEL)’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Iberdrola	11.30%	8.27%	3.18%
Companhia Paranaense de Energia (COPEL)	12.77%	11.15%	4.89%

Dividends

Iberdrola pays an annual dividend of $2.99 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.9%. Companhia Paranaense de Energia (COPEL) pays an annual dividend of $0.35 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.8%. Iberdrola pays out 90.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Companhia Paranaense de Energia (COPEL) pays out 205.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Iberdrola is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and target prices for Iberdrola and Companhia Paranaense de Energia (COPEL), as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Iberdrola	0	2	2	0	2.50
Companhia Paranaense de Energia (COPEL)	0	1	0	0	2.00

Summary

Iberdrola beats Companhia Paranaense de Energia (COPEL) on 8 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Iberdrola

Iberdrola, S.A. engages in the generation, transmission, distribution, and supply of electricity in Spain, the United Kingdom, the United States, Mexico, Brazil, Germany, France, and Australia. It generates electricity from renewable sources, such as onshore and offshore wind, hydro, photovoltaic, combined cycle gas, and conventional nuclear, as well as through batteries. The company is also involved in the purchase and sale of electricity and gas on wholesale markets; energy retail supply activities, such as gas and electricity, and other products and services, including hydrogen, as well as non-renewable generation; and production of green hydrogen. It has a total installed capacity of 62,871 MW. In addition, the company offers heat pumps, self-consumption, electric mobility, solar, etc. services to residential customers; and management of energy facilities, as well as supplies green H2, industrial heat, etc. to industrial customers. Iberdrola, S.A. was founded in 1840 and is based in Bilbao, Spain.

About Companhia Paranaense de Energia (COPEL)

Companhia Paranaense de Energia – COPEL engages in the generation, transformation, distribution, and sale of electricity to industrial, residential, commercial, rural, and other customers in Brazil. The company operates through Power Generation and Transmission, Power Distribution, Power Sale, and Gas segments. It is also involved in the piped natural gas distribution. The company operates hydroelectric, wind, and thermoelectric plants; and owns and operates transmission and distribution lines. It holds concessions to distribute electricity in municipalities in the State of Paraná and in the municipality of Porto União in the State of Santa Catarina. Companhia Paranaense de Energia COPEL was founded in 1954 and is headquartered in Curitiba, Brazil.Companhia Paranaense de Energia – COPEL Operates as a subsidiary of Governo Do Estado Do Parana.