Financial Survey: Allete (NYSE:ALE) vs. ENGIE (OTCMKTS:ENGIY)

Allete (NYSE:ALE) and ENGIE (OTCMKTS:ENGIY) are both utilities companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, profitability, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, dividends, valuation and risk.

Profitability

This table compares Allete and ENGIE’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Allete	11.98%	5.71%	2.83%
ENGIE	N/A	N/A	N/A

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings and recommmendations for Allete and ENGIE, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Allete	0	1	0	0	2.00
ENGIE	0	1	2	1	3.00

Volatility & Risk

Allete has a beta of 0.83, meaning that its stock price is 17% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, ENGIE has a beta of 0.65, meaning that its stock price is 35% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

Allete pays an annual dividend of $2.92 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.3%. ENGIE pays an annual dividend of $1.21 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.7%. Allete pays out 92.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Allete has increased its dividend for 15 consecutive years.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

76.6% of Allete shares are held by institutional investors. 0.3% of Allete shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Allete and ENGIE”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Allete	$1.53 billion	2.55	$179.30 million	$3.17	21.26
ENGIE	$79.88 billion	0.65	$4.44 billion	N/A	N/A

ENGIE has higher revenue and earnings than Allete.

Summary

Allete beats ENGIE on 8 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Allete

ALLETE, Inc. operates as an energy company. The company operates through Regulated Operations, ALLETE Clean Energy, and Corporate and Other segments. It generates electricity from coal-fired, biomass co-fired / natural gas, hydroelectric, wind, and solar. In addition, the company provides regulated utility electric services in northwestern Wisconsin to approximately 15,000 electric customers, 13,000 natural gas customers, and 10,000 water customers, as well as regulated utility electric services in northeastern Minnesota to approximately 150,000 retail customers and 14 non-affiliated municipal customers. Further, it owns and maintains electric transmission assets in Wisconsin, Michigan, Minnesota, and Illinois. Additionally, the company focuses on developing, acquiring, and operating clean and renewable energy projects; and owns and operates approximately 1,200 megawatts of wind energy generation facility, as well as involved in the coal mining operations in North Dakota; and real estate investment activities in Florida. It owns and operates 162 substations with a total capacity of 9,980 megavolt amperes. The company serves taconite mining, paper, pulp and secondary wood products, pipeline, and other industries. The company was formerly known as Minnesota Power, Inc. and changed its name to ALLETE, Inc. in May 2001. ALLETE, Inc. was incorporated in 1906 and is headquartered in Duluth, Minnesota.

About ENGIE

ENGIE SA engages in the power, natural gas, and energy services businesses. It operates through Renewables, Networks, Energy Solutions, FlexGen, Retail, Nuclear, and Others segments. The Renewables segment comprises renewable energy generation activities, including financing, construction, operation, and maintenance of renewable energy facilities using various energy sources, such as hydroelectric, onshore wind, photovoltaic solar, offshore wind, and geothermal. The Networks segment comprises the electricity and gas infrastructure activities and projects, including the management and development of gas and electricity transportation networks and natural gas distribution networks in and outside of Europe, natural gas underground storage in Europe, and regasification infrastructure in France and Chile. The Energy Solutions encompasses the construction and management of decentralized energy networks to produce energy and related services. The FlexGen segment operates flexible thermal generation and electricity, pumping, and battery storage facilities; solutions for decarbonizing industry with low-carbon hydrogen; and financing, construction, and operation of desalination plants. The Retail segment engages in the sale of gas and electricity to professional, individual, and residential clients. The Nuclear segment engages in the nuclear power generation activities. The others segment sells energy to companies and offers energy management services and solutions. The company was formerly known as GDF SUEZ S.A. and changed its name to ENGIE SA in April 2015. The company was founded in 1880 and is headquartered in Courbevoie, France.