Avista (NYSE:AVA) versus Terna Rete Elettrica Nazionale (OTCMKTS:TEZNY) Critical Contrast

Avista (NYSE:AVA) and Terna Rete Elettrica Nazionale (OTCMKTS:TEZNY) are both utilities companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, risk, dividends, analyst recommendations, profitability, institutional ownership and earnings.

Dividends

Avista pays an annual dividend of $1.97 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.8%. Terna Rete Elettrica Nazionale pays an annual dividend of $0.47 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.4%. Avista pays out 78.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Avista has increased its dividend for 23 consecutive years. Avista is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Avista and Terna Rete Elettrica Nazionale”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Avista	$1.96 billion	1.74	$193.00 million	$2.51	16.52
Terna Rete Elettrica Nazionale	$3.98 billion	5.85	$1.15 billion	N/A	N/A

Terna Rete Elettrica Nazionale has higher revenue and earnings than Avista.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and price targets for Avista and Terna Rete Elettrica Nazionale, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Avista	1	5	1	0	2.00
Terna Rete Elettrica Nazionale	0	1	0	0	2.00

Avista presently has a consensus price target of $40.00, suggesting a potential downside of 3.54%. Given Avista’s higher possible upside, research analysts clearly believe Avista is more favorable than Terna Rete Elettrica Nazionale.

Volatility & Risk

Avista has a beta of 0.24, meaning that its stock price is 76% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Terna Rete Elettrica Nazionale has a beta of 0.68, meaning that its stock price is 32% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

85.2% of Avista shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.8% of Avista shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares Avista and Terna Rete Elettrica Nazionale’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Avista	10.75%	7.65%	2.50%
Terna Rete Elettrica Nazionale	N/A	N/A	N/A

Summary

Avista beats Terna Rete Elettrica Nazionale on 9 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Avista

Avista Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an electric and natural gas utility company. It operates in two segments, Avista Utilities and AEL&P. The Avista Utilities segment provides electric distribution and transmission, and natural gas distribution services in parts of eastern Washington and northern Idaho; and natural gas distribution services in parts of northeastern and southwestern Oregon, as well as generates electricity in Washington, Idaho, Oregon, and Montana. This segment also engages in the supply of electricity to customers in Montana; and wholesale purchase and sale of electricity and natural gas. The AEL&P segment offers electric services in Juneau, Alaska. The company generates electricity through hydroelectric, thermal, wind, and solar generation facilities. As of December 31, 2023, it supplied retail electric services to approximately 416,000 customers; and retail natural gas services to approximately 381,000 customers. The company also operates five hydroelectric generation facilities with capacity of 102.7 MW; and four diesel generating facilities with a capacity of 107.5 MW. It also engages in venture fund investments, real estate investments, and other investments. Avista Corporation was incorporated in 1889 and is headquartered in Spokane, Washington.

About Terna Rete Elettrica Nazionale

Terna S.p.A., together with its subsidiaries, provides electricity transmission and dispatching services in Italy, other Euro-area countries, and internationally. It operates through Regulated, Non-Regulated, and International segments. The company is involved in the design, construction, management, development, operation, and maintenance of national transmission grid; dispatching and metering; and construction of storage systems. It also supplies transformers and cables; provides energy and connectivity services; and installs and operates interconnecting lines. In addition, the company designs, produces, commercializes, and repairs power transformers for electricity transmission and distribution grids; industrial transformers for the steel and metals industries; special transformers for convertors used in electrochemical production; produces and sells marine and terrestrial cables; develops renewable energy projects; and undertakes private interconnector projects. Terna S.p.A. was founded in 1962 and is based in Rome, Italy.