Financial Comparison: National Grid Transco (NYSE:NGG) & Centuri (NYSE:CTRI)

National Grid Transco (NYSE:NGG) and Centuri (NYSE:CTRI) are both utilities companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, earnings, dividends, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, risk and profitability.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings and target prices for National Grid Transco and Centuri, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
National Grid Transco	2	6	1	0	1.89
Centuri	2	1	2	0	2.00

National Grid Transco currently has a consensus target price of $85.50, suggesting a potential upside of 4.54%. Centuri has a consensus target price of $37.80, suggesting a potential upside of 26.40%. Given Centuri’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Centuri is more favorable than National Grid Transco.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

4.7% of National Grid Transco shares are held by institutional investors. 0.3% of Centuri shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares National Grid Transco and Centuri’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
National Grid Transco	N/A	N/A	N/A
Centuri	0.98%	5.64%	1.81%

Volatility and Risk

National Grid Transco has a beta of 0.75, suggesting that its share price is 25% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Centuri has a beta of 1.06, suggesting that its share price is 6% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares National Grid Transco and Centuri”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
National Grid Transco	$17.69 billion	4.60	$4.34 billion	N/A	N/A
Centuri	$2.98 billion	1.01	$22.40 million	$0.34	87.95

National Grid Transco has higher revenue and earnings than Centuri.

Summary

Centuri beats National Grid Transco on 8 of the 12 factors compared between the two stocks.

About National Grid Transco

National Grid plc transmits and distributes electricity and gas. It operates through UK Electricity Transmission, UK Electricity Distribution, UK Electricity System Operator, New England, New York, National Grid Ventures, and Other segments. The UK Electricity Transmission segment provides electricity transmission and construction work services in England and Wales. The UK Electricity Distribution segment offers electricity distribution services in Midlands, and South West of England and South Wales. The UK Electricity System Operator segment provides balancing services for supply and demand of electricity on Great Britain’s electricity transmission system; and acts as an agent on behalf of transmission operators. The New England segment offers electricity and gas distribution, and electricity transmission services in New England. The New York segment provides electricity and gas distribution, and electricity transmission services in New York. The National Grid Ventures segment provides transmission services through electricity interconnectors and LNG importation at the Isle of Grain, as well as sale of renewables projects. The Other segment engages in the leasing and sale of commercial property, as well as insurance activities in the United Kingdom. The company was founded in 1990 and is headquartered in London, the United Kingdom.

About Centuri

Centuri Holdings, Inc. operates as a utility infrastructure services company in North America. It offers gas utility services, including maintenance, repair, installation, and replacement services for natural gas local distribution utility companies with focus on the modernization of infrastructure. The company also provides electric utility services comprising design, maintenance and repair, upgrade, and expansion services for transmission and distribution infrastructure. Its customers include electric, gas, and combination utility companies, as well as serves end markets, such as renewable energy and 5G datacom. The company was founded in 1909 and is headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona. Centuri Holdings, Inc. is a subsidiary of Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc.