Critical Contrast: Pampa Energia (NYSE:PAM) and Companhia Paranaense de Energia – Copel (NYSE:ELPC)

Companhia Paranaense de Energia – Copel (NYSE:ELPC) and Pampa Energia (NYSE:PAM) are both utilities companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, institutional ownership, earnings, risk, valuation, dividends and analyst recommendations.

Profitability

This table compares Companhia Paranaense de Energia – Copel and Pampa Energia’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Companhia Paranaense de Energia – Copel	N/A	N/A	N/A
Pampa Energia	16.72%	9.39%	5.17%

Volatility & Risk

Companhia Paranaense de Energia – Copel has a beta of -0.02, indicating that its stock price is 102% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Pampa Energia has a beta of 1.14, indicating that its stock price is 14% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

12.8% of Pampa Energia shares are held by institutional investors. 55.5% of Pampa Energia shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Companhia Paranaense de Energia – Copel and Pampa Energia”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Companhia Paranaense de Energia – Copel	$4.20 billion	2.38	$545.71 million	$0.51	18.34
Pampa Energia	$1.88 billion	N/A	$619.00 million	$5.83	14.99

Pampa Energia has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Companhia Paranaense de Energia – Copel. Pampa Energia 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.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current recommendations and price targets for Companhia Paranaense de Energia – Copel and Pampa Energia, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Companhia Paranaense de Energia – Copel	0	1	0	0	2.00
Pampa Energia	0	3	1	0	2.25

Pampa Energia has a consensus price target of $103.25, indicating a potential upside of 18.16%. Given Pampa Energia’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Pampa Energia is more favorable than Companhia Paranaense de Energia – Copel.

Summary

Pampa Energia beats Companhia Paranaense de Energia – Copel on 11 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

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, GAS, Power Sale, and Holding and Services 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.

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.