TransAlta (TAC) Competitors

Companhia de saneamento Basico Do Estado De Sao Paulo - Sabesp (NYSE:SBS) and TransAlta (NYSE:TAC) are both utilities companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, institutional ownership, media sentiment, dividends, valuation, earnings, profitability and analyst recommendations.

Is SBS or TAC more profitable?

Companhia de saneamento Basico Do Estado De Sao Paulo - Sabesp has a net margin of 28.70% compared to TransAlta's net margin of 0.01%. Companhia de saneamento Basico Do Estado De Sao Paulo - Sabesp's return on equity of 29.18% beat TransAlta's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Companhia de saneamento Basico Do Estado De Sao Paulo - Sabesp	28.70%	29.18%	14.03%
TransAlta	0.01%	-1.64%	-0.17%

Does the media favor SBS or TAC?

In the previous week, TransAlta had 9 more articles in the media than Companhia de saneamento Basico Do Estado De Sao Paulo - Sabesp. MarketBeat recorded 11 mentions for TransAlta and 2 mentions for Companhia de saneamento Basico Do Estado De Sao Paulo - Sabesp. Companhia de saneamento Basico Do Estado De Sao Paulo - Sabesp's average media sentiment score of 0.75 beat TransAlta's score of 0.74 indicating that Companhia de saneamento Basico Do Estado De Sao Paulo - Sabesp is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Companhia de saneamento Basico Do Estado De Sao Paulo - Sabesp	1 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
TransAlta	2 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	2 Neutral mention(s)	1 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Do analysts rate SBS or TAC?

TransAlta has a consensus target price of $19.83, suggesting a potential upside of 60.92%. Given TransAlta's higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe TransAlta is more favorable than Companhia de saneamento Basico Do Estado De Sao Paulo - Sabesp.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Companhia de saneamento Basico Do Estado De Sao Paulo - Sabesp	0 Sell rating(s)	0 Hold rating(s)	0 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	4.00
TransAlta	0 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	3 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	3.00

Is SBS or TAC a better dividend stock?

Companhia de saneamento Basico Do Estado De Sao Paulo - Sabesp pays an annual dividend of $0.38 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.9%. TransAlta pays an annual dividend of $0.19 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.5%. Companhia de saneamento Basico Do Estado De Sao Paulo - Sabesp pays out 14.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. TransAlta pays out -950.0% 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. TransAlta has raised its dividend for 2 consecutive years.

Do institutionals & insiders have more ownership in SBS or TAC?

10.6% of Companhia de saneamento Basico Do Estado De Sao Paulo - Sabesp shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 59.0% of TransAlta shares are held by institutional investors. 1.0% of Companhia de saneamento Basico Do Estado De Sao Paulo - Sabesp shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 13.1% of TransAlta shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Which has stronger valuation and earnings, SBS or TAC?

Companhia de saneamento Basico Do Estado De Sao Paulo - Sabesp has higher revenue and earnings than TransAlta. TransAlta is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Companhia de saneamento Basico Do Estado De Sao Paulo - Sabesp, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Companhia de saneamento Basico Do Estado De Sao Paulo - Sabesp	$6.70B	2.01	$1.78B	$2.68	7.36
TransAlta	$2.08B	1.76	$167.12M	-$0.02	-616.25

Which has more volatility and risk, SBS or TAC?

Companhia de saneamento Basico Do Estado De Sao Paulo - Sabesp has a beta of 0.73, suggesting that its stock price is 27% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, TransAlta has a beta of 0.76, suggesting that its stock price is 24% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Companhia de saneamento Basico Do Estado De Sao Paulo - Sabesp beats TransAlta on 11 of the 19 factors compared between the two stocks.