Analyzing SSE (SSEZF) & The Competition
by Sarita Garza · The Markets DailyInsider & Institutional Ownership
40.4% of SSE shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 59.9% of shares of all “Electric Utilities” companies are owned by institutional investors. 6.2% of shares of all “Electric Utilities” companies are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.
Profitability
This table compares SSE and its peers’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| SSE | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| SSE Competitors | 13.77% | 9.64% | 3.17% |
Dividends
SSE pays an annual dividend of $0.87 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.5%. SSE pays out 419.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. As a group, “Electric Utilities” companies pay a dividend yield of 3.3% and pay out 65.0% of their earnings in the form of a dividend. SSE lags its peers as a dividend stock, given its lower dividend yield and higher payout ratio.
Valuation & Earnings
This table compares SSE and its peers revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Net Income | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| SSE | N/A | N/A | 164.75 |
| SSE Competitors | $14.11 billion | $1.54 billion | 20.38 |
SSE’s peers have higher revenue and earnings than SSE. SSE is trading at a higher price-to-earnings ratio than its peers, indicating that it is currently more expensive than other companies in its industry.
Summary
SSE peers beat SSE on 8 of the 9 factors compared.
About SSE
SSE plc engages in the generation, transmission, distribution, and supply of electricity. It generates electricity from water, gas, coal, oil, and multi fuel. The company distributes electricity to approximately 3.8 million homes and businesses across the north of the central belt of Scotland and central southern England; and owns, operates, and develops high voltage electricity transmission system in the north of Scotland and remote islands. It also produces, stores, distributes, and supplies gas. In addition, it engages in the electricity and utility contracting, telecommunications, energy trading, insurance, and property holding businesses, as well as provides maintenance services. The company was formerly known as Scottish and Southern Energy plc and changed its name to SSE plc in September 2011. SSE plc was incorporated in 1989 and is based in Perth, the United Kingdom.