Critical Comparison: Verbund (OEZVY) and The Competition

Verbund (OTCMKTS:OEZVY) is one of 141 publicly-traded companies in the “Independent Power & Renewable Electricity Producers” industry, but how does it compare to its peers? We will compare Verbund to similar companies based on the strength of its dividends, institutional ownership, profitability, earnings, risk, valuation and analyst recommendations.

Profitability

This table compares Verbund and its peers’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Verbund	N/A	N/A	N/A
Verbund Competitors	-42.52%	13.39%	0.72%

Insider & Institutional Ownership

35.2% of shares of all “Independent Power & Renewable Electricity Producers” companies are owned by institutional investors. 21.7% of shares of all “Independent Power & Renewable Electricity Producers” companies are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Verbund and its peers top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Net Income	Price/Earnings Ratio
Verbund	N/A	N/A	130.00
Verbund Competitors	$6.44 billion	$832.74 million	19.70

Verbund’s peers have higher revenue and earnings than Verbund. Verbund is trading at a higher price-to-earnings ratio than its peers, indicating that it is currently more expensive than other companies in its industry.

Dividends

Verbund pays an annual dividend of $0.29 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.2%. Verbund pays out 290.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. As a group, “Independent Power & Renewable Electricity Producers” companies pay a dividend yield of 6.6% and pay out 275.9% of their earnings in the form of a dividend. Verbund lags its peers as a dividend stock, given its lower dividend yield and higher payout ratio.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent recommendations and price targets for Verbund and its peers, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Verbund	4	0	0	0	1.00
Verbund Competitors	924	2924	3708	177	2.41

As a group, “Independent Power & Renewable Electricity Producers” companies have a potential upside of 138.68%. Given Verbund’s peers stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Verbund has less favorable growth aspects than its peers.

Summary

Verbund peers beat Verbund on 11 of the 13 factors compared.

Verbund Company Profile

VERBUND AG, together with its subsidiaries, generates, trades, and sells electricity to energy exchange markets, traders, electric utilities and industrial companies, and households and commercial customers. It operates through Hydro, New Renewables, Sales, Grid, and All Other segments. The company operates hydropower plants with a capacity of 8,417 megawatts (MW); wind farms with a capacity of 798 MW; solar power with a capacity of 253 MW; and two thermal power plants. It also owns and operates electricity transmission network, and gas transmission pipeline and distribution network in Austria, as well as trades and sells gas. VERBUND AG was founded in 1947 and is headquartered in Vienna, Austria.