Hawaiian Electric Industries (NYSE:HE – Get Free Report) and PPL (NYSE:PPL – Get Free Report) are both utilities companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, earnings, dividends, risk, valuation, institutional ownership and analyst recommendations.
Institutional and Insider Ownership
59.9% of Hawaiian Electric Industries shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 77.0% of PPL shares are held by institutional investors. 0.3% of Hawaiian Electric Industries shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 0.2% of PPL shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.
Analyst Recommendations
This is a breakdown of current ratings and price targets for Hawaiian Electric Industries and PPL, as provided by MarketBeat.com.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Hawaiian Electric Industries | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2.25 |
| PPL | 0 | 3 | 7 | 1 | 2.82 |
Dividends
Hawaiian Electric Industries pays an annual dividend of $1.44 per share and has a dividend yield of 13.1%. PPL pays an annual dividend of $1.09 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.1%. Hawaiian Electric Industries pays out -11.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. PPL pays out 90.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Hawaiian Electric Industries is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.
Profitability
This table compares Hawaiian Electric Industries and PPL’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Hawaiian Electric Industries | -35.38% | 11.12% | 1.19% |
| PPL | 10.49% | 8.88% | 3.11% |
Risk and Volatility
Hawaiian Electric Industries has a beta of 0.46, suggesting that its share price is 54% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, PPL has a beta of 0.76, suggesting that its share price is 24% less volatile than the S&P 500.
Earnings & Valuation
This table compares Hawaiian Electric Industries and PPL”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Hawaiian Electric Industries | $3.22 billion | 0.59 | $201.13 million | ($12.67) | -0.87 |
| PPL | $8.46 billion | 3.03 | $888.00 million | $1.21 | 28.74 |
PPL has higher revenue and earnings than Hawaiian Electric Industries. Hawaiian Electric Industries is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than PPL, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Summary
PPL beats Hawaiian Electric Industries on 12 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.
About Hawaiian Electric Industries
Hawaiian Electric Industries, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the electric utility businesses in the United States. It operates in three segments: Electric Utility, Bank, and Other. The Electric Utility segment engages in the production, purchase, transmission, distribution, and sale of electricity in the islands of Oahu, Hawaii, Maui, Lanai, and Molokai. Its renewable energy sources and potential sources include wind, solar, photovoltaic, geothermal, wave, hydroelectric, municipal waste, and other biofuels. This segment serves suburban communities, resorts, the United States Armed Forces installations, and agricultural operations. The Bank segment operates a federally chartered savings bank that offers banking and other financial services to consumers and businesses, including savings and checking accounts; and loans comprising residential and commercial real estate, residential mortgage, construction and development, multifamily residential and commercial real estate, consumer, and commercial loans. The Other segment invests in non-regulated renewable energy and sustainable infrastructure in the State of Hawaii. Hawaiian Electric Industries, Inc. was founded in 1891 and is headquartered in Honolulu, Hawaii.
About PPL
PPL Corporation, an energy company, focuses on providing electricity and natural gas to approximately 3.6 million customers in the United States. It operates through three segments: Kentucky Regulated, Pennsylvania Regulated, and Rhode Island Regulated. The company delivers electricity to customers in Pennsylvania, Kentucky, Virginia, and Rhode Island; delivers natural gas to customers in Kentucky and Rhode Island; and generates electricity from power plants in Kentucky. PPL Corporation was founded in 1920 and is headquartered in Allentown, Pennsylvania.
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