Southern (NYSE:SO – Get Rating) and EnSync (OTCMKTS:ESNC – Get Rating) are both utilities companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, earnings, risk, profitability, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership and dividends.
Valuation and Earnings
This table compares Southern and EnSync's gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.
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Southern alerts:
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio |
| Southern | $23.11 billion | 3.10 | $2.41 billion | $3.16 | 20.84 |
| EnSync | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
Southern has higher revenue and earnings than EnSync.
Institutional and Insider Ownership
61.8% of Southern shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.4% of Southern shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 14.8% of EnSync shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.
Analyst Ratings
This is a breakdown of recent ratings and target prices for Southern and EnSync, as reported by MarketBeat.com.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score |
| Southern | 5 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 2.07 |
| EnSync | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | N/A |
Southern presently has a consensus price target of $71.85, suggesting a potential upside of 9.09%.
Profitability
This table compares Southern and EnSync's net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets |
| Southern | 12.52% | 12.21% | 3.13% |
| EnSync | N/A | N/A | N/A |
Risk and Volatility
Southern has a beta of 0.48, meaning that its stock price is 52% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, EnSync has a beta of 1.55, meaning that its stock price is 55% more volatile than the S&P 500.
Summary
Southern beats EnSync on 6 of the 8 factors compared between the two stocks.
About Southern
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The Southern Co is a holding company, which engages in the generation and sale of electricity. It operates through the following segments: Traditional Electric Operating Companies, Southern Power and Southern Company Gas. The Traditional Electric Operating Companies segment refers to vertically integrated utilities that own generation, transmission and distribution facilities, and supplies electric services in the states of Alabama, Georgia, Florida, and Mississippi. The Southern Power segment constructs, acquires, owns, and manages generation assets such as renewable energy projects and sells electricity in the wholesale market. The Southern Company Gas segment distributes natural gas through natural gas distribution facilities in the states of Illinois, Georgia, Virginia, New Jersey, Florida, Tennessee, and Maryland. The company was founded on November 9, 1945, and is headquartered in Atlanta, GA.
About EnSync
(Get Rating)
EnSync, Inc. engages in the design, development and manufacture of advanced energy storage, power electronic systems and engineered custom and semi-custom products. Its services include matrix energy management, internet of energy, system support and system design. The company was founded in 1986 and is headquartered in Menomonee Falls, WI.
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