Comp En De Mn Cemig ADS (CIG) versus TransAlta Corporation (TAC) Head-To-Head Review

Comp En De Mn Cemig ADS (NYSE: CIG) and TransAlta Corporation (NYSE:TAC) are both utilities companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, profitability, valuation, dividends, earnings, institutional ownership and analyst recommendations.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Comp En De Mn Cemig ADS and TransAlta Corporation’s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	EBITDA	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Comp En De Mn Cemig ADS	$6.06 billion	0.53	$1.30 billion	N/A	N/A
TransAlta Corporation	$1.90 billion	0.94	$724.50 million	$0.09	68.90

Comp En De Mn Cemig ADS has higher revenue and earnings than TransAlta Corporation.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

3.2% of Comp En De Mn Cemig ADS shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 50.9% of TransAlta Corporation shares are held by institutional investors. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings for Comp En De Mn Cemig ADS and TransAlta Corporation, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Comp En De Mn Cemig ADS	0	2	1	0	2.33
TransAlta Corporation	0	4	0	0	2.00

Comp En De Mn Cemig ADS presently has a consensus target price of $2.80, suggesting a potential upside of 10.24%. TransAlta Corporation has a consensus target price of $7.00, suggesting a potential upside of 12.90%. Given TransAlta Corporation’s higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe TransAlta Corporation is more favorable than Comp En De Mn Cemig ADS.

Dividends

Comp En De Mn Cemig ADS pays an annual dividend of $0.13 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.1%. TransAlta Corporation pays an annual dividend of $0.12 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.9%. TransAlta Corporation pays out 133.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future.

Profitability

This table compares Comp En De Mn Cemig ADS and TransAlta Corporation’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Comp En De Mn Cemig ADS	N/A	N/A	N/A
TransAlta Corporation	1.67%	1.00%	0.34%

Risk & Volatility

Comp En De Mn Cemig ADS has a beta of 1.89, suggesting that its share price is 89% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, TransAlta Corporation has a beta of 0.71, suggesting that its share price is 29% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Comp En De Mn Cemig ADS beats TransAlta Corporation on 7 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Comp En De Mn Cemig ADS

Companhia Energetica de Minas Gerais-CEMIG is a holding company that is engaged in the generation, transmission and distribution of electricity. The Company’s segments include Generation, Transmission, Distribution, Telecom, Gas and Other. The Company, through its interests in subsidiaries or jointly controlled entities, is engaged in the activities of the construction and operation of systems for sale of electricity, as well as various fields of energy and telecommunications, for the purpose of commercial operation. Its electric power transmission business consists of transporting power from the facilities where it is generated to points of consumption, distribution networks and Free Consumers. Its distribution operation consists of transfers of electricity from distribution substations to final consumers. It is also engaged in businesses, such as telecommunications, energy solutions consulting, and acquisition, transport and distribution of gas and its subproducts and derivatives.

About TransAlta Corporation

TransAlta Corporation (TransAlta) is a non-regulated electricity generation and energy marketing company with an aggregate net ownership interest of approximately 8,720 megawatts of generating capacity. The Company is engaged in the production and sale of electric energy. It focuses on generating and marketing electricity in Canada, the United States and Western Australia through its diversified portfolio of facilities fuelled by coal, natural gas, diesel, hydro, wind and solar. TransAlta is organized into eight business segments: Canadian Coal, U.S. Coal, Canadian Gas, Australian Gas, Wind and Solar, Hydro, Energy Marketing and Corporate. The Canadian Coal, U.S. Coal, Canadian Gas, Australian Gas, Wind and Solar, and Hydro segments are responsible for constructing, operating and maintaining its electrical generation. All the segments are supported by a Corporate segment, which includes the Corporation’s central financial, legal, administrative, and investing functions.