Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) versus Endesa (OTCMKTS:ELEZF) Critical Contrast

Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) and Endesa (OTCMKTS:ELEZF) are both utilities companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, dividends, profitability, valuation and risk.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

80.0% of Eversource Energy shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 7.1% of Endesa shares are held by institutional investors. 0.4% of Eversource Energy shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Eversource Energy and Endesa’s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Eversource Energy	$11.91 billion	1.77	-$442.24 million	($1.18)	-50.86
Endesa	N/A	N/A	N/A	$1.46	12.47

Endesa has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Eversource Energy. Eversource Energy is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Endesa, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares Eversource Energy and Endesa’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Eversource Energy	-3.60%	10.22%	2.79%
Endesa	N/A	N/A	N/A

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations and price targets for Eversource Energy and Endesa, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Eversource Energy	0	7	6	0	2.46
Endesa	0	0	0	0	N/A

Eversource Energy currently has a consensus price target of $66.23, suggesting a potential upside of 10.37%. Given Eversource Energy’s higher possible upside, equities research analysts clearly believe Eversource Energy is more favorable than Endesa.

Dividends

Eversource Energy pays an annual dividend of $2.86 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.8%. Endesa pays an annual dividend of $1.19 per share and has a dividend yield of 6.5%. Eversource Energy pays out -242.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Endesa pays out 81.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Eversource Energy has raised its dividend for 26 consecutive years.

Summary

Eversource Energy beats Endesa on 9 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Eversource Energy

Eversource Energy, a public utility holding company, engages in the energy delivery business. The company operates through Electric Distribution, Electric Transmission, Natural Gas Distribution, and Water Distribution segments. It is involved in the transmission and distribution of electricity; solar power facilities; and distribution of natural gas. The company operates regulated water utilities that provide water services to approximately 241,000 customers. It serves residential, commercial, industrial, municipal and fire protection, and other customers in Connecticut, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire. The company was formerly known as Northeast Utilities and changed its name to Eversource Energy in April 2015. Eversource Energy was incorporated in 1927 and is headquartered in Springfield, Massachusetts.

About Endesa

Endesa, S.A. engages in the generation, distribution, and sale of electricity in Spain, Portugal, France, Germany, Morocco, Italy, the United Kingdom, Singapore, and internationally. The company generates electricity from various energy sources, such as hydroelectric, nuclear, thermal, wind, and solar. It also offers advisory services and technology relating to energy efficiency, distributed generation, and energy demand management; deploys structures for recharging electric vehicles, vehicle-to-grid, and second-life services for batteries; develops integrated services for local administrations, such as public lighting, smart city development, energy efficiency services, and solutions for connectivity; and provides energy producers with financial solutions, as well as provides engineering and construction activities for facilities related to the electricity business. As of December 31, 2023, it had an installed capacity of 21,247 MW in Spain; operates 319,136 km of distribution and transmission networks; and distributes electricity to 10,522 thousands customers and gas to 1,829 thousands customers. The company was formerly known as Empresa Nacional de Electricidad, S.A. and changed its name to Endesa, S.A. in June 1997. The company was incorporated in 1944 and is headquartered in Madrid, Spain. Endesa, S.A. operates as a subsidiary of Enel Iberia Srl.