Critical Comparison: ENGIE (OTCMKTS:ENGIY) vs. NiSource (NYSE:NI)

ENGIE (OTCMKTS:ENGIY) and NiSource (NYSE:NI) are both large-cap utilities companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, profitability, analyst recommendations, valuation, risk, dividends and institutional ownership.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares ENGIE and NiSource”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
ENGIE	$81.38 billion	0.96	$4.33 billion	N/A	N/A
NiSource	$6.64 billion	3.41	$929.50 million	$2.01	23.48

ENGIE has higher revenue and earnings than NiSource.

Dividends

ENGIE pays an annual dividend of $0.88 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.9%. NiSource pays an annual dividend of $1.20 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.5%. NiSource pays out 59.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. NiSource has increased its dividend for 14 consecutive years.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

91.6% of NiSource shares are held by institutional investors. 0.4% of NiSource shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Volatility & Risk

ENGIE has a beta of 0.48, meaning that its share price is 52% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, NiSource has a beta of 0.54, meaning that its share price is 46% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and recommmendations for ENGIE and NiSource, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
ENGIE	0	3	4	2	2.89
NiSource	0	3	7	1	2.82

NiSource has a consensus target price of $50.33, indicating a potential upside of 6.65%. Given NiSource’s higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe NiSource is more favorable than ENGIE.

Profitability

This table compares ENGIE and NiSource’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
ENGIE	N/A	N/A	N/A
NiSource	14.15%	8.31%	2.70%

Summary

NiSource beats ENGIE on 10 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

About ENGIE

ENGIE SA engages in the power, natural gas, and energy services businesses. It operates through Renewables, Networks, Energy Solutions, FlexGen, Retail, Nuclear, and Others segments. The Renewables segment comprises renewable energy generation activities, including financing, construction, operation, and maintenance of renewable energy facilities using various energy sources, such as hydroelectric, onshore wind, photovoltaic solar, offshore wind, and geothermal. The Networks segment comprises the electricity and gas infrastructure activities and projects, including the management and development of gas and electricity transportation networks and natural gas distribution networks in and outside of Europe, natural gas underground storage in Europe, and regasification infrastructure in France and Chile. The Energy Solutions encompasses the construction and management of decentralized energy networks to produce energy and related services. The FlexGen segment operates flexible thermal generation and electricity, pumping, and battery storage facilities; solutions for decarbonizing industry with low-carbon hydrogen; and financing, construction, and operation of desalination plants. The Retail segment engages in the sale of gas and electricity to professional, individual, and residential clients. The Nuclear segment engages in the nuclear power generation activities. The others segment sells energy to companies and offers energy management services and solutions. The company was formerly known as GDF SUEZ S.A. and changed its name to ENGIE SA in April 2015. The company was founded in 1880 and is headquartered in Courbevoie, France.

About NiSource

NiSource Inc., an energy holding company, operates as a regulated natural gas and electric utility company in the United States. It operates in two segments, Gas Distribution Operations and Electric Operations. The company distributes natural gas to approximately 3.3 million customers through approximately 55,000 miles of distribution main pipeline and the associated individual customer service lines; and 1,000 miles of transmission main pipeline in northern Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Kentucky, and Maryland. It also generates, transmits, and distributes electricity to approximately 0.5 million customers in various counties in the northern part of Indiana, as well as engages in wholesale electric and transmission transactions. It owns and operates coal-fired electric generating stations in Wheatfield and Michigan City; combined cycle gas turbine in West Terre Haute; natural gas generating units in Wheatfield; hydro generating plants in Carroll County and White County; wind generating units in White County, Indiana; and solar generating units in Jasper County and White County. The company was formerly known as NIPSCO Industries, Inc. and changed its name to NiSource Inc. in April 1999. NiSource Inc. was founded in 1847 and is headquartered in Merrillville, Indiana.