Head to Head Survey: Ameren (NYSE:AEE) vs. Premier (OTCMKTS:PRHL)

Premier (OTCMKTS:PRHL) and Ameren (NYSE:AEE) are both utilities companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, analyst recommendations, earnings, dividends, profitability, risk and institutional ownership.

Profitability

This table compares Premier and Ameren’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Premier	N/A	N/A	N/A
Ameren	16.55%	10.69%	2.91%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and recommmendations for Premier and Ameren, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Premier	0	0	0	0	0.00
Ameren	1	6	5	1	2.46

Ameren has a consensus target price of $113.30, suggesting a potential upside of 1.57%. Given Ameren’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Ameren is more favorable than Premier.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

79.1% of Ameren shares are owned by institutional investors. 2.2% of Premier shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 0.4% of Ameren shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Premier and Ameren”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Premier	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Ameren	$8.80 billion	3.50	$1.46 billion	$5.35	20.85

Ameren has higher revenue and earnings than Premier.

Summary

Ameren beats Premier on 9 of the 10 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Premier

Premier Holding Corp. is a holding company, which engages in the provision of energy solutions. The firm operates through its subsidiary companies, Energy Efficiency Experts, Inc. (E3) and The Power Company USA, LLC (TPC). It enables customers to reduce energy consumption, lower operating and maintenance costs, and realize environmental benefits. The company was founded on October 18, 1971 and is headquartered in Tustin, CA.

About Ameren

Ameren Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a public utility holding company in the United States. The company operates through four segments: Ameren Missouri, Ameren Illinois Electric Distribution, Ameren Illinois Natural Gas, and Ameren Transmission. It engages in the rate-regulated electric generation, transmission, and distribution activities; and rate-regulated natural gas distribution business. In addition, the company generates electricity through coal, nuclear, and natural gas, as well as renewable sources, such as hydroelectric, wind, methane gas, and solar. It serves residential, commercial, and industrial customers. The company was founded in 1881 and is headquartered in Saint Louis, Missouri.