Comparing NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG) and United Utilities Group (OTCMKTS:UUGRY)

United Utilities Group (OTCMKTS:UUGRY) and NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG) are both large-cap utilities companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, valuation, analyst recommendations, dividends, risk, institutional ownership and earnings.

Profitability

This table compares United Utilities Group and NRG Energy’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
United Utilities Group	N/A	N/A	N/A
NRG Energy	0.74%	70.67%	4.95%

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current recommendations and price targets for United Utilities Group and NRG Energy, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
United Utilities Group	0	4	3	1	2.62
NRG Energy	0	4	10	1	2.80

NRG Energy has a consensus target price of $199.93, indicating a potential upside of 54.84%. Given NRG Energy’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe NRG Energy is more favorable than United Utilities Group.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares United Utilities Group and NRG Energy”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
United Utilities Group	$3.51 billion	3.89	$786.53 million	N/A	N/A
NRG Energy	$30.71 billion	0.89	$864.00 million	$0.85	151.91

NRG Energy has higher revenue and earnings than United Utilities Group.

Dividends

United Utilities Group pays an annual dividend of $1.76 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.8%. NRG Energy pays an annual dividend of $1.90 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.5%. NRG Energy pays out 223.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. NRG Energy has increased its dividend for 1 consecutive years.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

97.7% of NRG Energy shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.4% of NRG Energy shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Volatility & Risk

United Utilities Group has a beta of 0.78, meaning that its stock price is 22% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, NRG Energy has a beta of 1.21, meaning that its stock price is 21% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

NRG Energy beats United Utilities Group on 12 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About United Utilities Group

United Utilities Group PLC provides water and wastewater services in the United Kingdom. It is involved in the renewable energy generation, corporate trustee, financing, and property management activities; and provision of consulting, and project management services. The company operates 43,000 kilometers of water pipes; and 79,000 kilometers of wastewater pipes. United Utilities Group PLC was incorporated in 2008 and is based in Warrington, the United Kingdom.

About NRG Energy

NRG Energy, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates as an energy and home services company in the United States and Canada. It operates through Texas; East; West/Services/Other; Vivint Smart Home; and Corporate Activities segments. The company produces and sells electricity generated using coal, oil, solar, and battery storage; natural gas; and a cloud-based home platform, including hardware, software, sales, installation, customer service, technical support, and professional monitoring solutions. It offers retail electricity and energy management, line and surge protection products, HVAC installation, repair and maintenance, home protection products, carbon offsets, back-up power stations, portable power, portable solar, and portable lighting; retail services comprising demand response, commodity sales, energy efficiency, and energy management solutions; and system power, distributed generation, renewable and low-carbon products, carbon management and specialty services, backup generation, storage and distributed solar, and energy advisory services. In addition, the company trades in power, natural gas, and related commodities; environmental products; weather products; and financial products, including forwards, futures, options, and swaps. It offers its products and services under the NRG, Reliant, Direct Energy, Green Mountain Energy, and Vivint. It serves residential, commercial, government, industrial, and wholesale customers. NRG Energy, Inc. was founded in 1989 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas.