Critical Review: Black Hills (NYSE:BKH) versus Electricité de France (OTCMKTS:ECIFY)

Electricité de France (OTCMKTS:ECIFY) and Black Hills (NYSE:BKH) are both utilities companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, dividends, earnings, risk, valuation, analyst recommendations and institutional ownership.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

86.7% of Black Hills shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.6% of Black Hills shares are owned by company 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.

Volatility & Risk

Electricité de France has a beta of 1.26, meaning that its stock price is 26% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Black Hills has a beta of 0.71, meaning that its stock price is 29% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings and price targets for Electricité de France and Black Hills, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Electricité de France	0	0	0	0	0.00
Black Hills	0	0	6	0	3.00

Black Hills has a consensus price target of $81.67, indicating a potential upside of 10.32%. Given Black Hills’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Black Hills is more favorable than Electricité de France.

Profitability

This table compares Electricité de France and Black Hills’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Electricité de France	N/A	N/A	N/A
Black Hills	13.01%	7.98%	2.93%

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Electricité de France and Black Hills”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Electricité de France	$151.19 billion	0.35	-$18.90 billion	N/A	N/A
Black Hills	$2.31 billion	2.44	$291.60 million	$3.96	18.69

Black Hills has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Electricité de France.

Summary

Black Hills beats Electricité de France on 10 of the 12 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Electricité de France

Electricité de France S.A., an integrated energy company, engages in the power generation, transmission, distribution, supply, and trading activities in France, the United Kingdom, Italy, and internationally. The company generates electricity through nuclear, fossil fuel, hydro, solar, wind, biomass, biogas, thermal, and cogeneration plants. It also manages low and medium-voltage public electricity distribution networks; operates, maintains, and develops high-voltage and very-high-voltage electricity transmission networks; and services and produces equipment and fuel for nuclear reactors. In addition, the company is involved in commodity trading activities; and the provision of energy services, including district heating services, thermal energy services, etc. It serves approximately 38.5 million customers, including small businesses, local authorities, and industrial and residential customers. The company was founded in 1946 and is headquartered in Paris, France.

About Black Hills

Black Hills Corporation, through its subsidiaries, operates as an electric and natural gas utility company in the United States. The company operates in two segments: Electric Utilities and Gas Utilities. The Electric Utilities segment generates, transmits, and distributes electricity to approximately 222,000 electric utility customers in Colorado, Montana, South Dakota, and Wyoming; and owns and operates 1,394 megawatts of generation capacity and 9,106 miles of electric transmission and distribution lines. The Gas Utilities segment distributes natural gas to approximately 1,116,000 natural gas utility customers in Arkansas, Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, and Wyoming; owns and operates 4,663 miles of intrastate gas transmission pipelines; 42,514 miles of gas distribution mains and service lines; seven natural gas storage sites; and approximately 50,000 horsepower of compression and 516 miles of gathering lines. It also constructs and maintains customer owned gas infrastructure facilities for gas transportation customers; and provides appliance repair services to residential utility customers, as well as electrical system construction services to large industrial customers. In addition, the company produces electric power through wind, natural gas, and coal-fired generating plants; and coal at its coal mine located near Gillette, Wyoming. Black Hills Corporation was incorporated in 1941 and is headquartered in Rapid City, South Dakota.