Reviewing Central Puerto (CEPU) and The Competition

Central Puerto (NYSE:CEPU) is one of 141 publicly-traded companies in the “Independent Power & Renewable Electricity Producers” industry, but how does it contrast to its rivals? We will compare Central Puerto to related businesses based on the strength of its valuation, analyst recommendations, risk, profitability, dividends, earnings and institutional ownership.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Central Puerto and its rivals top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Net Income	Price/Earnings Ratio
Central Puerto	$1,699.71 billion	$277.08 million	3.32
Central Puerto Competitors	$35.60 billion	$816.69 million	0.57

Central Puerto has higher revenue, but lower earnings than its rivals. Central Puerto is trading at a higher price-to-earnings ratio than its rivals, indicating that it is currently more expensive than other companies in its industry.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and price targets for Central Puerto and its rivals, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Central Puerto	0	1	1	0	2.50
Central Puerto Competitors	963	2984	3818	188	2.41

Central Puerto currently has a consensus price target of $28.00, suggesting a potential upside of 181.12%. As a group, “Independent Power & Renewable Electricity Producers” companies have a potential upside of 144.77%. Given Central Puerto’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities research analysts plainly believe Central Puerto is more favorable than its rivals.

Volatility and Risk

Central Puerto has a beta of 0.85, meaning that its share price is 15% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Central Puerto’s rivals have a beta of 0.62, meaning that their average share price is 38% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

Central Puerto pays an annual dividend of $0.89 per share and has a dividend yield of 8.9%. Central Puerto pays out 29.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. As a group, “Independent Power & Renewable Electricity Producers” companies pay a dividend yield of 6.6% and pay out 230.2% of their earnings in the form of a dividend. Central Puerto is clearly a better dividend stock than its rivals, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Profitability

This table compares Central Puerto and its rivals’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Central Puerto	29.58%	16.32%	10.91%
Central Puerto Competitors	-33.53%	10.62%	0.86%

Insider & Institutional Ownership

3.0% of Central Puerto shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 35.3% of shares of all “Independent Power & Renewable Electricity Producers” companies are held by institutional investors. 0.1% of Central Puerto shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 21.7% of shares of all “Independent Power & Renewable Electricity Producers” companies are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

Central Puerto beats its rivals on 11 of the 15 factors compared.

Central Puerto Company Profile

Central Puerto S.A. engages in the electric power generation in Argentina. It operates through three segments: Electric Power Generation from Conventional Sources, Electric Power Generation from Renewable Sources, and Natural Gas Transport and Distribution. The company generates energy through thermal, hydroelectric, and wind farms. It also engages in the natural gas transport and distribution business. Central Puerto S.A. was founded in 1898 and is based in Buenos Aires, Argentina.