ATCO (ACO.X) Competitors

Canadian Utilities (TSE:CU) and ATCO (TSE:ACO.X) are both mid-cap utilities companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, analyst recommendations, earnings, media sentiment, dividends, profitability, institutional ownership and valuation.

Do insiders and institutionals hold more shares of CU or ACO.X?

14.1% of Canadian Utilities shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 28.4% of ATCO shares are held by institutional investors. 37.6% of Canadian Utilities shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.6% of ATCO shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Is CU or ACO.X more profitable?

Canadian Utilities has a net margin of 13.41% compared to ATCO's net margin of 8.16%. ATCO's return on equity of 8.54% beat Canadian Utilities' return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Canadian Utilities	13.41%	7.21%	2.66%
ATCO	8.16%	8.54%	2.95%

Which has stronger valuation and earnings, CU or ACO.X?

ATCO has higher revenue and earnings than Canadian Utilities. ATCO is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Canadian Utilities, 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
Canadian Utilities	C$2.81B	2.73	C$376.93M	C$1.85	20.32
ATCO	C$4.71B	1.07	C$385M	C$3.42	14.78

Is CU or ACO.X a better dividend stock?

Canadian Utilities pays an annual dividend of C$1.81 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.8%. ATCO pays an annual dividend of C$1.96 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.9%. Canadian Utilities pays out 97.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. ATCO pays out 57.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend.

Which has more volatility and risk, CU or ACO.X?

Canadian Utilities has a beta of 0.66, suggesting that its share price is 34% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, ATCO has a beta of 0.74, suggesting that its share price is 26% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Does the media favor CU or ACO.X?

In the previous week, Canadian Utilities had 1 more articles in the media than ATCO. MarketBeat recorded 3 mentions for Canadian Utilities and 2 mentions for ATCO. Canadian Utilities' average media sentiment score of 0.88 beat ATCO's score of 0.46 indicating that Canadian Utilities is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Canadian Utilities	0 Very Positive mention(s)	2 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
ATCO	0 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	2 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral

Do analysts prefer CU or ACO.X?

Canadian Utilities currently has a consensus price target of C$38.83, indicating a potential upside of 3.25%. ATCO has a consensus price target of C$53.25, indicating a potential upside of 5.36%. Given ATCO's stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe ATCO is more favorable than Canadian Utilities.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Canadian Utilities	0 Sell rating(s)	5 Hold rating(s)	0 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.00
ATCO	0 Sell rating(s)	4 Hold rating(s)	1 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.20

Summary

ATCO beats Canadian Utilities on 11 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.