Unitil (NYSE:UTL – Get Free Report) and American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP – Get Free Report) are both utilities companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, institutional ownership, earnings, dividends, valuation, profitability and analyst recommendations.
Risk & Volatility
Unitil has a beta of 0.49, indicating that its stock price is 51% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, American Electric Power has a beta of 0.62, indicating that its stock price is 38% less volatile than the S&P 500.
Analyst Ratings
This is a breakdown of recent recommendations for Unitil and American Electric Power, as provided by MarketBeat.com.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Unitil | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2.00 |
| American Electric Power | 1 | 9 | 10 | 1 | 2.52 |
Valuation & Earnings
This table compares Unitil and American Electric Power”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Unitil | $536.00 million | 1.79 | $47.10 million | $3.00 | 17.79 |
| American Electric Power | $21.88 billion | 3.17 | $2.97 billion | $6.86 | 18.94 |
American Electric Power has higher revenue and earnings than Unitil. Unitil is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than American Electric Power, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Insider & Institutional Ownership
76.8% of Unitil shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 75.2% of American Electric Power shares are held by institutional investors. 2.0% of Unitil shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 0.1% of American Electric Power shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.
Profitability
This table compares Unitil and American Electric Power’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Unitil | 9.37% | 9.38% | 2.71% |
| American Electric Power | 16.37% | 10.65% | 2.97% |
Dividends
Unitil pays an annual dividend of $1.90 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.6%. American Electric Power pays an annual dividend of $3.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.9%. Unitil pays out 63.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. American Electric Power pays out 55.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Unitil has raised its dividend for 12 consecutive years and American Electric Power has raised its dividend for 15 consecutive years.
Summary
American Electric Power beats Unitil on 15 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.
About Unitil
Unitil Corporation, a public utility holding company, engages in the distribution of electricity and natural gas. It operates through two segments, Utility Electric Operations, Utility Gas Operations. The company distributes electricity in the southeastern seacoast and state capital regions of New Hampshire, and the greater Fitchburg area of north central Massachusetts; and distributes natural gas in southeastern New Hampshire and portions of southern and central Maine, including the city of Portland and the Lewiston-Auburn area, as well as electricity and natural gas in the greater Fitchburg area of north central Massachusetts. It also operates 86 miles of interstate underground natural gas transmission pipeline that provides interstate natural gas pipeline access and transportation services primarily in Maine and New Hampshire. In addition, the company provides real estate management services. It serves approximately 108,100 electric customers and 87,500 natural gas customers. Unitil Corporation was incorporated in 1984 and is headquartered in Hampton, New Hampshire.
About American Electric Power
American Electric Power Company, Inc., an electric public utility holding company, engages in the generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity for sale to retail and wholesale customers in the United States. It operates through Vertically Integrated Utilities, Transmission and Distribution Utilities, AEP Transmission Holdco, and Generation & Marketing segments. The company generates electricity using coal and lignite, natural gas, renewable, nuclear, hydro, solar, wind, and other energy sources. It also supplies and markets electric power at wholesale to other electric utility companies, rural electric cooperatives, municipalities, and other market participants. American Electric Power Company, Inc. was incorporated in 1906 and is headquartered in Columbus, Ohio.
Receive News & Ratings for Unitil Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Unitil and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
