Contrasting China Mobile (Hong Kong) (CHL) & China Telecom Corp (NYSE:CHA)

China Telecom Corp (NYSE: CHA) and China Mobile (Hong Kong) (NYSE:CHL) are both large-cap utilities companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, analyst recommendations, dividends, institutional ownership, valuation, risk and profitability.

Volatility and Risk

China Telecom Corp has a beta of 0.65, suggesting that its stock price is 35% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, China Mobile (Hong Kong) has a beta of 0.3, suggesting that its stock price is 70% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

0.4% of China Telecom Corp shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 2.0% of China Mobile (Hong Kong) shares are held by institutional investors. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares China Telecom Corp and China Mobile (Hong Kong)’s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	EBITDA	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
China Telecom Corp	$53.21 billion	0.71	$13.71 billion	N/A	N/A
China Mobile (Hong Kong)	$108.26 billion	2.08	$39.71 billion	N/A	N/A

China Mobile (Hong Kong) has higher revenue and earnings than China Telecom Corp.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent recommendations and price targets for China Telecom Corp and China Mobile (Hong Kong), as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
China Telecom Corp	0	0	4	0	3.00
China Mobile (Hong Kong)	1	3	1	0	2.00

Profitability

This table compares China Telecom Corp and China Mobile (Hong Kong)’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
China Telecom Corp	N/A	N/A	N/A
China Mobile (Hong Kong)	N/A	N/A	N/A

Dividends

China Telecom Corp pays an annual dividend of $1.21 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.6%. China Mobile (Hong Kong) pays an annual dividend of $1.58 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.9%.

Summary

China Mobile (Hong Kong) beats China Telecom Corp on 5 of the 8 factors compared between the two stocks.

China Telecom Corp Company Profile

China Telecom Corporation Limited is an investment holding company principally engaged in telecommunications and related businesses. The Company provides integrated information services, including wireline and mobile telecommunications services, Internet access services, information services and other value-added telecommunications services. The Company mainly operates its business in domestic market.

China Mobile (Hong Kong) Company Profile

China Mobile Limited is an investment holding company principally engaged in telecommunication and related businesses. Its main businesses include Mobile businesses, Wireline Broadband businesses and Internet of Things (IoT) businesses. Mobile businesses include two categories of services. Voice services include local calls, domestic and international long distance calls, roaming services and voice value-added services. Data services include short message services and multimedia message services, wireless data traffic services and application and information services, such as Mobile Music, Mobile Reading and Mobile Video, among others. Wireline Broadband businesses include the provision of wireline broadband and related services. The Company also provides customer services, including phone bill enquiry, among others. The Company mainly operates businesses in Mainland China.