Financial Review: Caribbean Utilities (OTCMKTS:CUPUF) versus Emera (OTCMKTS:EMRAF)

Emera (OTCMKTS:EMRAF) and Caribbean Utilities (OTCMKTS:CUPUF) are both utilities companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, analyst recommendations, earnings, institutional ownership, risk, profitability and valuation.

Profitability

This table compares Emera and Caribbean Utilities’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Emera	N/A	N/A	N/A
Caribbean Utilities	N/A	N/A	N/A

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Emera and Caribbean Utilities”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Emera	N/A	N/A	N/A	$1.97	19.02
Caribbean Utilities	N/A	N/A	N/A	$0.70	20.44

Emera is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Caribbean Utilities, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current recommendations and price targets for Emera and Caribbean Utilities, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Emera	0	0	1	0	3.00
Caribbean Utilities	0	0	0	0	0.00

Emera currently has a consensus target price of $54.00, indicating a potential upside of 44.50%. Given Emera’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities research analysts clearly believe Emera is more favorable than Caribbean Utilities.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

23.8% of Emera shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 0.1% of Caribbean Utilities shares are owned by institutional investors. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Dividends

Emera pays an annual dividend of $1.45 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.9%. Caribbean Utilities pays an annual dividend of $0.66 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.6%. Emera pays out 73.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Caribbean Utilities pays out 94.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future.

Summary

Emera beats Caribbean Utilities on 6 of the 8 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Emera

Emera Incorporated, through its subsidiaries, engages in the generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity to various customers. The company operates through Florida Electric Utility, Canadian Electric Utilities, Other Electric Utilities, Gas Utilities and Infrastructure, and Other segments. It generates electricity through natural gas, solar, hydroelectricity, coal, and biomass power plants. The company is also involved in the purchase, transmission, distribution, and sale of natural gas; and the provision of energy marketing, trading, and other energy asset management services. In addition, it transports re-gasified liquefied natural gas from Saint John, New Brunswick to consumers in the northeastern United States through its 145-kilometer pipeline. As of December 31, 2023, the company’s electric utilities served approximately 840,000 customers in West Central Florida; 549,000 customers in Nova Scotia; 134,000 customers in the island of Barbados; 19,000 customers in the Grand Bahama Island; and gas utilities and infrastructure served approximately 490,000 customers across Florida and 540,000 customers in New Mexico. The company was incorporated in 1998 and is headquartered in Halifax, Canada.

About Caribbean Utilities

Caribbean Utilities Company, Ltd. engages in the generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity in Grand Cayman. The company generates electricity using diesel with 166 megawatts total installed capacity. It also operates nine transformer substations with approximately 436 miles of land-based high voltage transmission and distribution lines and 15 miles of high-voltage submarine cables. The company also provides telecommunication services. The company was incorporated in 1966 and is headquartered in Grand Cayman, the Cayman Islands. Caribbean Utilities Company, Ltd. is a subsidiary of Fortis Energy (Bermuda) Ltd.