Suburban Propane Partners (NYSE:SPH – Get Free Report) and AltaGas (OTCMKTS:ATGFF – Get Free Report) are both utilities companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, valuation, risk, profitability, analyst recommendations, earnings and institutional ownership.
Dividends
Suburban Propane Partners pays an annual dividend of $1.30 per share and has a dividend yield of 7.1%. AltaGas pays an annual dividend of $1.50 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.8%. Suburban Propane Partners pays out 65.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. AltaGas pays out 136.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Suburban Propane Partners is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.
Profitability
This table compares Suburban Propane Partners and AltaGas’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Suburban Propane Partners | 9.57% | 19.45% | 5.39% |
| AltaGas | N/A | N/A | N/A |
Insider and Institutional Ownership
Valuation and Earnings
This table compares Suburban Propane Partners and AltaGas”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Suburban Propane Partners | $1.39 billion | 0.87 | $106.57 million | $1.99 | 9.17 |
| AltaGas | N/A | N/A | N/A | $1.10 | 35.94 |
Suburban Propane Partners has higher revenue and earnings than AltaGas. Suburban Propane Partners is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than AltaGas, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Analyst Recommendations
This is a summary of recent recommendations for Suburban Propane Partners and AltaGas, as reported by MarketBeat.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Suburban Propane Partners | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3.67 |
| AltaGas | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 3.00 |
Summary
Suburban Propane Partners beats AltaGas on 11 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.
About Suburban Propane Partners
Suburban Propane Partners, L.P., through its subsidiaries, engages in the retail marketing and distribution of propane, renewable propane, fuel oil, and refined fuels in the United States. The company operates through four segments: Propane, Fuel Oil and Refined Fuels, Natural Gas and Electricity, and All Other. The Propane segment is involved in the retail distribution of propane for space heating, water heating, cooking, and clothes drying for use as a motor fuel in internal combustion engines to power over-the-road vehicles, forklifts, and stationary engines, as well as to fire furnaces as a cutting gas to the industrial customers; and for tobacco curing, crop drying, poultry brooding, and weed control in the agricultural markets. It also engages in the wholesale distribution of propane to industrial end users. Its Fuel Oil and Refined Fuels segment engages in the retail distribution of fuel oil, diesel, kerosene, and gasoline to residential and commercial customers for use in primarily as a source of heat in homes and buildings. The Natural Gas and Electricity segment markets natural gas and electricity to residential and commercial customers in the deregulated energy markets in New York and Pennsylvania. The All Other segment sells, installs, and services a range of home comfort equipment, including whole-house heating products, air cleaners, humidifiers, and space heaters. The company serves residential, commercial, industrial, and agricultural customers primarily in the east and west coast regions of the United States, as well as portions of the Midwest region of the United States and Alaska. Suburban Propane Partners, L.P. was founded in 1945 and is based in Whippany, New Jersey.
About AltaGas
AltaGas Ltd. operates as an energy infrastructure company in North America. The company operates through Utilities and Midstream segments. The Utilities segment owns and operates franchised, cost-of-service, rate-regulated natural gas distribution and storage utilities in Maryland, Virginia, Delaware, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and the District of Columbia serving approximately 1.6 million customers. This segment also provides interstate natural gas transportation and storage services. The Midstream segment engages in the natural gas gathering, processing, and extraction with 1.2 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) of extraction processing capacity and approximately 1.2 Bcf/d of raw field gas processing capacity; fractionation and liquids handling business; and natural gas and natural gas liquids marketing activities. It also engages in LPG exports and distribution, logistics, trucking and rail terminals, and liquid storage businesses. In addition, the company operates gas-fired power generation and distribution assets with a generating capacity of 508 megawatt of power in California. It serves residential, commercial, and industrial customers. AltaGas Ltd. was founded in 1994 and is headquartered in Calgary, Canada.
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