Spire (NYSE:SR – Get Free Report) and Cheniere Energy Partners (NYSE:CQP – Get Free Report) are both utilities companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, analyst recommendations, risk, profitability, earnings, institutional ownership and dividends.
Analyst Recommendations
This is a summary of current ratings and price targets for Spire and Cheniere Energy Partners, as provided by MarketBeat.
Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
Spire | 1 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 2.11 |
Cheniere Energy Partners | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.00 |
Spire currently has a consensus price target of $71.50, indicating a potential upside of 7.21%. Cheniere Energy Partners has a consensus price target of $50.50, indicating a potential downside of 3.29%. Given Spire’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, research analysts clearly believe Spire is more favorable than Cheniere Energy Partners.
Volatility and Risk
Profitability
This table compares Spire and Cheniere Energy Partners’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
Spire | 9.52% | 8.10% | 2.27% |
Cheniere Energy Partners | 31.28% | -328.60% | 13.93% |
Institutional and Insider Ownership
87.4% of Spire shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 46.5% of Cheniere Energy Partners shares are owned by institutional investors. 2.9% of Spire shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.
Dividends
Spire pays an annual dividend of $3.14 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.7%. Cheniere Energy Partners pays an annual dividend of $3.10 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.9%. Spire pays out 72.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Cheniere Energy Partners pays out 67.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Spire has raised its dividend for 22 consecutive years. Cheniere Energy Partners is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.
Earnings & Valuation
This table compares Spire and Cheniere Energy Partners”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.
Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
Spire | $2.59 billion | 1.49 | $250.90 million | $4.31 | 15.47 |
Cheniere Energy Partners | $8.93 billion | 2.83 | $4.25 billion | $4.63 | 11.28 |
Cheniere Energy Partners has higher revenue and earnings than Spire. Cheniere Energy Partners is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Spire, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Summary
Cheniere Energy Partners beats Spire on 9 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.
About Spire
Spire Inc., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the purchase, retail distribution, and sale of natural gas to residential, commercial, industrial, and other end-users of natural gas in the United States. The company operates through three segments: Gas Utility, Gas Marketing, and Midstream. It is also involved in the marketing of natural gas and related services; and transportation and storage of natural gas. In addition, the company engages in the operation of propane through its propane pipeline, risk management, and other activities. The company was formerly known as The Laclede Group, Inc. and changed its name to Spire Inc. in April 2016. Spire Inc. was founded in 1857 and is based in Saint Louis, Missouri.
About Cheniere Energy Partners
Cheniere Energy Partners, L.P., through its subsidiaries, provides liquefied natural gas (LNG) to integrated energy companies, utilities, and energy trading companies worldwide. The company owns and operates natural gas liquefaction and export facility at the Sabine Pass LNG Terminal located in Cameron Parish, Louisiana. It also owns a natural gas supply pipeline that interconnects the Sabine Pass LNG terminal with various interstate pipelines. The company was founded in 2003 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas. Cheniere Energy Partners, L.P. is a subsidiary of Cheniere Energy, Inc.
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