Head to Head Contrast: Consolidated Water (NASDAQ:CWCO) versus Severn Trent (OTCMKTS:STRNY)

Severn Trent (OTCMKTS:STRNY) and Consolidated Water (NASDAQ:CWCO) are both utilities companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, valuation, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, risk, profitability and earnings.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings for Severn Trent and Consolidated Water, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Severn Trent	0	1	0	0	2.00
Consolidated Water	0	0	0	0	N/A

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Severn Trent and Consolidated Water”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Severn Trent	N/A	N/A	N/A	$0.82	40.78
Consolidated Water	$175.27 million	2.15	$29.58 million	$1.47	16.16

Consolidated Water has higher revenue and earnings than Severn Trent. Consolidated Water is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Severn Trent, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares Severn Trent and Consolidated Water’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Severn Trent	N/A	N/A	N/A
Consolidated Water	23.26%	15.49%	13.67%

Dividends

Severn Trent pays an annual dividend of $1.70 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.1%. Consolidated Water pays an annual dividend of $0.44 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.9%. Severn Trent pays out 207.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Consolidated Water pays out 29.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

0.1% of Severn Trent shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 55.2% of Consolidated Water shares are held by institutional investors. 5.9% of Consolidated Water shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

Consolidated Water beats Severn Trent on 8 of the 10 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Severn Trent

Severn Trent PLC operates as a water and sewerage company in England and Wales. It operates through two segments: Regulated Water and Waste Water, and Business Services. The Regulated Water and Waste Water segment offers water and waste water services to approximately 4.8 million households and businesses. The Business Services segment generates renewable energy from anaerobic digestion, hydropower, wind turbines, and solar panels; property development; and offers affinity products and search services. It also provides services to municipal and industrial clients, including the Ministry of Defence and the Coal Authority for design, build, and operation of water and wastewater treatment facilities and networks. Severn Trent PLC was founded in 1974 and is headquartered in Coventry, the United Kingdom.

About Consolidated Water

Consolidated Water Co. Ltd., together with its subsidiaries, designs, constructs, manages, and operates water production and water treatment plants primarily in the Cayman Islands, the Bahamas, and the United States. The company operates through four segments: Retail, Bulk, Services, and Manufacturing. The company produces potable water from seawater utilizing reverse osmosis technology and supply water to end-users, including residential, commercial, and government customers, as well as government-owned distributors. It offers design, engineering, construction, procurement, and management services for desalination projects and water treatment plants, as well as management and engineering services relating to municipal water distribution and treatment. In addition, the company manufactures and services a range of water-related products, including reverse osmosis desalination equipment, membrane separation equipment, filtration equipment, piping systems, vessels, and custom fabricated components; and provides design, engineering, consulting, management, inspection, training, and equipment maintenance services for commercial, municipal, and industrial water production, supply, and treatment, as well as desalination and wastewater treatment. Consolidated Water Co. Ltd. was incorporated in 1973 and is headquartered in Grand Cayman, the Cayman Islands.