PPL (NYSE:PPL) vs. Power Assets (OTCMKTS:HGKGY) Critical Comparison

Power Assets (OTCMKTS:HGKGY) and PPL (NYSE:PPL) are both large-cap utilities companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, earnings, valuation, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, dividends and profitability.

Profitability

This table compares Power Assets and PPL’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Power Assets	N/A	N/A	N/A
PPL	13.09%	9.41%	3.10%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings and recommmendations for Power Assets and PPL, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Power Assets	0	0	0	0	0.00
PPL	0	3	10	0	2.77

PPL has a consensus target price of $41.50, indicating a potential upside of 12.55%. Given PPL’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe PPL is more favorable than Power Assets.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Power Assets and PPL”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Power Assets	$98.89 million	157.32	$800.08 million	N/A	N/A
PPL	$9.04 billion	3.07	$1.18 billion	$1.64	22.48

PPL has higher revenue and earnings than Power Assets.

Volatility & Risk

Power Assets has a beta of 0.31, indicating that its share price is 69% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, PPL has a beta of 0.57, indicating that its share price is 43% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

77.0% of PPL shares are held by institutional investors. 1.0% of Power Assets shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.3% of PPL shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Dividends

Power Assets pays an annual dividend of $0.48 per share and has a dividend yield of 6.6%. PPL pays an annual dividend of $1.14 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.1%. PPL pays out 69.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. PPL has raised its dividend for 3 consecutive years.

Summary

PPL beats Power Assets on 11 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Power Assets

Power Assets Holdings Limited, an investment holding company, engages in the generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity in Hong Kong, the United Kingdom, Australia, Mainland China, and internationally. It generates energy from thermal, renewable energy, and waste sources. The company also transmits and distributes oil and gas; and provides trust administration and management services. It has a generation capacity of 879 MW renewable energy/energy from waste, 5,262 MW gas fired, and 3,567 MW coal/oil fired; and operates 114,900 km of gas/oil pipeline, as well as 388,200 km of power network serving 19,790,000 customers. The company was formerly known as Hongkong Electric Holdings Limited and changed its name to Power Assets Holdings Limited in February 2011. Power Assets Holdings Limited was founded in 1889 and is based in Central, Hong Kong.

About PPL

PPL Corporation, an energy company, focuses on providing electricity and natural gas to approximately 3.6 million customers in the United States. It operates through three segments: Kentucky Regulated, Pennsylvania Regulated, and Rhode Island Regulated. The company delivers electricity to customers in Pennsylvania, Kentucky, Virginia, and Rhode Island; delivers natural gas to customers in Kentucky and Rhode Island; and generates electricity from power plants in Kentucky. PPL Corporation was founded in 1920 and is headquartered in Allentown, Pennsylvania.