Head-To-Head Contrast: Enel Chile (NYSE:ENIC) vs. Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL)

Enel Chile (NYSE:ENIC) and Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) are both utilities companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their risk, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, earnings, dividends, valuation and profitability.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Enel Chile and Xcel Energy”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Enel Chile	$4.39 billion	N/A	$159.62 million	$0.11	34.77
Xcel Energy	$13.96 billion	3.37	$1.94 billion	$3.61	22.05

Xcel Energy has higher revenue and earnings than Enel Chile. Xcel Energy is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Enel Chile, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Volatility and Risk

Enel Chile has a beta of 0.95, indicating that its stock price is 5% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Xcel Energy has a beta of 0.37, indicating that its stock price is 63% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

3.2% of Enel Chile shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 78.4% of Xcel Energy shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.1% of Xcel Energy shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares Enel Chile and Xcel Energy’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Enel Chile	3.50%	2.53%	1.07%
Xcel Energy	14.85%	10.52%	2.92%

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and recommmendations for Enel Chile and Xcel Energy, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Enel Chile	0	2	0	0	2.00
Xcel Energy	0	2	9	0	2.82

Enel Chile currently has a consensus price target of $3.90, suggesting a potential upside of 1.96%. Xcel Energy has a consensus price target of $80.36, suggesting a potential upside of 0.96%. Given Enel Chile’s higher probable upside, equities research analysts clearly believe Enel Chile is more favorable than Xcel Energy.

Dividends

Enel Chile pays an annual dividend of $0.01 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.3%. Xcel Energy pays an annual dividend of $2.28 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.9%. Enel Chile pays out 9.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Xcel Energy pays out 63.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Xcel Energy has raised its dividend for 22 consecutive years. Xcel Energy is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Summary

Xcel Energy beats Enel Chile on 12 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Enel Chile

Enel Chile S.A., an electricity utility company, engages in the generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity in Chile. The company operates through Generation, and Distribution and Networks Segments. It generates electricity through various sources, such as hydroelectric, thermal, wind, solar, and geothermal power plants. It distributes electricity in various municipalities of the Santiago metropolitan region. The company also engages in the sale and transportation of natural gas, and provision of engineering consulting services. It serves residential, commercial, industrial, and other customers. The company was formerly known as Enersis Chile S.A. and changed its name to Enel Chile S.A. in October 2016. The company was incorporated in 2016 and is headquartered in Santiago, Chile. Enel Chile S.A. (SNSE:ENELCHILE) operates as a subsidiary of Enel SpA (BIT:ENEL).

About Xcel Energy

Xcel Energy Inc., through its subsidiaries, engages in the generation, purchasing, transmission, distribution, and sale of electricity. It operates through Regulated Electric Utility, Regulated Natural Gas Utility, and All Other segments. The company generates electricity through wind, nuclear, hydroelectric, biomass, and solar energy sources, as well as coal, natural gas, oil, wood, and refuse-derived fuels. It also purchases, transports, distributes, and sells natural gas to retail customers, as well as transports customer-owned natural gas. In addition, the company develops and leases natural gas pipelines, and storage and compression facilities; and invests in rental housing projects and nonregulated assets, as well as procures equipment for the construction of renewable generation facilities. It serves residential, commercial, and industrial customers in the portions of Colorado, Michigan, Minnesota, New Mexico, North Dakota, South Dakota, Texas, and Wisconsin. The company was incorporated in 1909 and is headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota.