Comparing Telefônica Brasil (NYSE:VIV) & Spark New Zealand (OTCMKTS:SPKKY)

Telefônica Brasil (NYSE:VIV) and Spark New Zealand (OTCMKTS:SPKKY) are both utilities companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their risk, profitability, earnings, dividends, analyst recommendations, valuation and institutional ownership.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent recommendations for Telefônica Brasil and Spark New Zealand, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Telefônica Brasil	0	3	2	0	2.40
Spark New Zealand	0	1	0	0	2.00

Telefônica Brasil currently has a consensus price target of $10.47, indicating a potential upside of 23.21%. Given Telefônica Brasil’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, research analysts plainly believe Telefônica Brasil is more favorable than Spark New Zealand.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Telefônica Brasil and Spark New Zealand”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Telefônica Brasil	$10.44 billion	1.35	$1.01 billion	$0.63	13.48
Spark New Zealand	$2.34 billion	1.29	$191.69 million	N/A	N/A

Telefônica Brasil has higher revenue and earnings than Spark New Zealand.

Profitability

This table compares Telefônica Brasil and Spark New Zealand’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Telefônica Brasil	9.78%	7.77%	4.36%
Spark New Zealand	N/A	N/A	N/A

Institutional & Insider Ownership

5.2% of Telefônica Brasil shares are owned by institutional investors. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Volatility and Risk

Telefônica Brasil has a beta of 0.78, suggesting that its stock price is 22% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Spark New Zealand has a beta of 0.55, suggesting that its stock price is 45% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

Telefônica Brasil pays an annual dividend of $0.28 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.3%. Spark New Zealand pays an annual dividend of $0.69 per share and has a dividend yield of 8.4%. Telefônica Brasil pays out 44.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend.

Summary

Telefônica Brasil beats Spark New Zealand on 11 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Telefônica Brasil

Telefônica Brasil S.A., together with its subsidiaries, operates as a mobile telecommunications company in Brazil. Its fixed line services portfolio includes local, domestic long-distance, and international long-distance calls; and mobile portfolio comprises voice and broadband internet access through 3G, 4G, 4.5G, and 5G, as well as mobile value-added and wireless roaming services. The company also offers data services, including broadband and mobile data services. In addition, it provides pay TV services through IPTV technologies; network services, such as rental of facilities; other services comprising internet access, private network connectivity, computer equipment leasing, extended service, caller identification, voice mail, cellular blocker, and others; wholesale services, including interconnection services to users of other network providers; and digital services, such as entertainment, cloud, and security and financial services. Further, the company offers multimedia communication services, which include audio, data, voice and other sounds, images, texts, and other information, as well as sells devices, such as smartphones, broadband USB modems, and other devices. Additionally, it provides telecommunications solutions and IT support to various industries, such as retail, manufacturing, services, financial institutions, government, etc. It markets and sells its solutions through own stores, dealers, retail and distribution channels, door-to-door sales, and outbound tele sales. The company was formerly known as Telecomunicações de São Paulo S.A. – TELESP and changed its name to Telefônica Brasil S.A. in October 2011. The company was incorporated in 1998 and is headquartered in São Paulo, Brazil.

About Spark New Zealand

Spark New Zealand Limited, together with its subsidiaries, provides telecommunications and digital services in New Zealand. It offers telecommunications, information technology, media, and other digital products and services, including mobile services; voice services; broadband services; internet sports streaming services; cloud, security, and service. The company also provides IT infrastructure, business cloud, business and outsourced telecommunications, software, data analytics, data center, and international wholesale telecommunications services. In addition, it offers local, national, and international telephone and data services; finance products; group insurance products; and mobile phone repair services. Further, the company retails telecommunications products and services; and distributes equipment. It serves consumers, households, small businesses, government, and large enterprises. The company was formerly known as Telecom Corporation of New Zealand Limited and changed its name to Spark New Zealand Limited in August 2014. The company was incorporated in 1987 and is headquartered in Auckland, New Zealand.