Iberdrola (OTCMKTS:IBDRY – Get Free Report) and Vistra (NYSE:VST – Get Free Report) are both large-cap utilities companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, profitability, dividends, analyst recommendations, risk, valuation and institutional ownership.

0.0% of Iberdrola shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 90.9% of Vistra shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.4% of Vistra shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

This is a breakdown of current ratings and recommmendations for Iberdrola and Vistra, as reported by MarketBeat.

Vistra has a consensus target price of $234.21, indicating a potential upside of 22.85%. Given Vistra’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Vistra is more favorable than Iberdrola.

This table compares Iberdrola and Vistra”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

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

This table compares Iberdrola and Vistra’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

Iberdrola has a beta of 0.78, meaning that its stock price is 22% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Vistra has a beta of 1.3, meaning that its stock price is 30% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Iberdrola pays an annual dividend of $2.98 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.6%. Vistra pays an annual dividend of $0.90 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.5%. Iberdrola pays out 82.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Vistra pays out 14.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Vistra has raised its dividend for 6 consecutive years.

Vistra beats Iberdrola on 14 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.