Financial Analysis: Unitil (NYSE:UTL) vs. Premier (OTCMKTS:PRHL)

Premier (OTCMKTS:PRHL) and Unitil (NYSE:UTL) are both utilities companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, institutional ownership, risk, earnings, analyst recommendations, dividends and profitability.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

76.8% of Unitil shares are held by institutional investors. 2.2% of Premier shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 2.2% of Unitil shares are held by company insiders. 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.

Profitability

This table compares Premier and Unitil’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Premier	N/A	N/A	N/A
Unitil	9.60%	9.89%	2.89%

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Premier and Unitil”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Premier	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Unitil	$536.00 million	1.83	$50.20 million	$3.16	17.22

Unitil has higher revenue and earnings than Premier.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings for Premier and Unitil, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Premier	0	0	0	0	0.00
Unitil	0	5	0	0	2.00

Unitil has a consensus price target of $56.50, indicating a potential upside of 3.82%. Given Unitil’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Unitil is more favorable than Premier.

Summary

Unitil beats Premier on 7 of the 8 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Premier

Premier Holding Corp. is a holding company, which engages in the provision of energy solutions. The firm operates through its subsidiary companies, Energy Efficiency Experts, Inc. (E3) and The Power Company USA, LLC (TPC). It enables customers to reduce energy consumption, lower operating and maintenance costs, and realize environmental benefits. The company was founded on October 18, 1971 and is headquartered in Tustin, CA.

About Unitil

Unitil Corporation, a public utility holding company, engages in the distribution of electricity and natural gas. It operates through two segments, Utility Electric Operations, Utility Gas Operations. The company distributes electricity in the southeastern seacoast and state capital regions of New Hampshire, and the greater Fitchburg area of north central Massachusetts; and distributes natural gas in southeastern New Hampshire and portions of southern and central Maine, including the city of Portland and the Lewiston-Auburn area, as well as electricity and natural gas in the greater Fitchburg area of north central Massachusetts. It also operates 86 miles of interstate underground natural gas transmission pipeline that provides interstate natural gas pipeline access and transportation services primarily in Maine and New Hampshire. In addition, the company provides real estate management services. It serves approximately 108,100 electric customers and 87,500 natural gas customers. Unitil Corporation was incorporated in 1984 and is headquartered in Hampton, New Hampshire.