Analyzing Alliant Energy (NASDAQ:LNT) & Comp En De Mn Cemig ADS (NYSE:CIG)

Comp En De Mn Cemig ADS (NYSE:CIG) and Alliant Energy (NASDAQ:LNT) are both utilities companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, risk, earnings, institutional ownership, dividends, valuation and profitability.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

79.9% of Alliant Energy shares are held by institutional investors. 0.3% of Alliant Energy shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Dividends

Comp En De Mn Cemig ADS pays an annual dividend of $0.20 per share and has a dividend yield of 8.6%. Alliant Energy pays an annual dividend of $2.14 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.2%. Comp En De Mn Cemig ADS pays out 105.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Alliant Energy pays out 67.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Alliant Energy has increased its dividend for 22 consecutive years.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations and price targets for Comp En De Mn Cemig ADS and Alliant Energy, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Comp En De Mn Cemig ADS	0	0	1	0	3.00
Alliant Energy	0	5	9	0	2.64

Alliant Energy has a consensus target price of $75.09, suggesting a potential upside of 11.23%. Given Alliant Energy’s higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Alliant Energy is more favorable than Comp En De Mn Cemig ADS.

Risk & Volatility

Comp En De Mn Cemig ADS has a beta of 0.76, indicating that its share price is 24% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Alliant Energy has a beta of 0.52, indicating that its share price is 48% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Comp En De Mn Cemig ADS and Alliant Energy’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Comp En De Mn Cemig ADS	10.44%	16.89%	7.28%
Alliant Energy	18.45%	11.16%	3.31%

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Comp En De Mn Cemig ADS and Alliant Energy”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Comp En De Mn Cemig ADS	$7.66 billion	0.87	$877.05 million	$0.19	12.29
Alliant Energy	$4.36 billion	4.01	$810.00 million	$3.16	21.36

Comp En De Mn Cemig ADS has higher revenue and earnings than Alliant Energy. Comp En De Mn Cemig ADS is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Alliant Energy, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

Alliant Energy beats Comp En De Mn Cemig ADS on 10 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Comp En De Mn Cemig ADS

Companhia Energética de Minas Gerais, through its subsidiaries, engages in the generation, transmission, distribution, and sale of electricity in Brazil. The company generates electricity through renewable energy sources, such as water, wind, sun, and biomass; or non-renewable sources, including fossil and nuclear fuels. As of December 31, 2016, it operated hydroelectric plants, thermoelectric plants, and solar plants with a total installed capacity of approximately 8,000 megawatts in 10 states of Brazil. It is also involved in the telecommunications and energy solutions consulting businesses; exploitation of natural gas; sale and trading of electricity; and acquisition, transport, and distribution of gas and its subproducts and derivatives, as well as provision of technology systems and systems for operational management of public service concessions, including companies operating in electricity, gas, water and sewerage, and other utility companies. The company was founded in 1952 and is headquartered in Belo Horizonte, Brazil.

About Alliant Energy

Alliant Energy Corporation operates as a utility holding company that provides regulated electricity and natural gas services in the United States. It operates in three segments: Utility Electric Operations, Utility Gas Operations, and Utility Other. The company, through its subsidiary, Interstate Power and Light Company (IPL), primarily generates and distributes electricity, and distributes and transports natural gas to retail customers in Iowa; sells electricity to wholesale customers in Minnesota, Illinois, and Iowa; and generates and distributes steam in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Alliant Energy Corporation, through its other subsidiary, Wisconsin Power and Light Company (WPL), generates and distributes electricity, and distributes and transports natural gas to retail customers in Wisconsin; and sells electricity to wholesale customers in Wisconsin. It serves retail customers in the farming, agriculture, industrial manufacturing, chemical, packaging, and food industries, as well as wholesale customers comprising municipalities and rural electric cooperatives. In addition, the company owns and operates a short-line rail freight service in Iowa; a Mississippi River barge, rail, and truck freight terminal in Illinois; freight brokerage services; wind turbine blade recycling services; and a rail-served warehouse in Iowa. Further, it holds interests in a natural gas-fired electric generating unit near Sheboygan Falls, Wisconsin; and a wind farm located in Oklahoma. The company was formerly known as Interstate Energy Corp. and changed its name to Alliant Energy Corporation in May 1999. Alliant Energy Corporation was incorporated in 1981 and is headquartered in Madison, Wisconsin.