Head-To-Head Review: Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) versus Hawaiian Electric Industries (NYSE:HE)

Hawaiian Electric Industries (NYSE:HE) and Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) are both utilities companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their risk, analyst recommendations, earnings, valuation, profitability, dividends and institutional ownership.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Hawaiian Electric Industries and Xcel Energy”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Hawaiian Electric Industries	$3.09 billion	0.57	$126.28 million	$1.30	7.87
Xcel Energy	$14.67 billion	3.10	$2.02 billion	$3.65	19.92

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

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations for Hawaiian Electric Industries and Xcel Energy, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Hawaiian Electric Industries	3	2	0	0	1.40
Xcel Energy	0	1	14	2	3.06

Hawaiian Electric Industries currently has a consensus price target of $9.25, suggesting a potential downside of 9.62%. Xcel Energy has a consensus price target of $92.41, suggesting a potential upside of 27.10%. Given Xcel Energy’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Xcel Energy is more favorable than Hawaiian Electric Industries.

Profitability

This table compares Hawaiian Electric Industries and Xcel Energy’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Hawaiian Electric Industries	6.89%	7.90%	1.48%
Xcel Energy	15.28%	10.65%	2.97%

Institutional and Insider Ownership

59.9% of Hawaiian Electric Industries shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 78.4% of Xcel Energy shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.2% of Hawaiian Electric Industries shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 0.2% of Xcel Energy shares are owned by 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 and Risk

Hawaiian Electric Industries has a beta of 0.48, indicating that its share price is 52% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Xcel Energy has a beta of 0.39, indicating that its share price is 61% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Xcel Energy beats Hawaiian Electric Industries on 13 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Hawaiian Electric Industries

Hawaiian Electric Industries, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the electric utility businesses in the United States. It operates in three segments: Electric Utility, Bank, and Other. The Electric Utility segment engages in the production, purchase, transmission, distribution, and sale of electricity in the islands of Oahu, Hawaii, Maui, Lanai, and Molokai. Its renewable energy sources and potential sources include wind, solar, photovoltaic, geothermal, wave, hydroelectric, municipal waste, and other biofuels. This segment serves suburban communities, resorts, the United States Armed Forces installations, and agricultural operations. The Bank segment operates a federally chartered savings bank that offers banking and other financial services to consumers and businesses, including savings and checking accounts; and loans comprising residential and commercial real estate, residential mortgage, construction and development, multifamily residential and commercial real estate, consumer, and commercial loans. The Other segment invests in non-regulated renewable energy and sustainable infrastructure in the State of Hawaii. Hawaiian Electric Industries, Inc. was founded in 1891 and is headquartered in Honolulu, Hawaii.

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.