Pennon Group (PNN) Competitors

Severn Trent (LON:SVT) and Pennon Group (LON:PNN) are both mid-cap utilities companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, earnings, dividends, media sentiment, risk, analyst recommendations, valuation and institutional ownership.

Which has stronger valuation & earnings, SVT or PNN?

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

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Severn Trent	£2.97B	2.77	£177.90M	£59.91	45.87
Pennon Group	£1.55B	1.49	-£16.20M	-£3.56	-139.46

Is SVT or PNN a better dividend stock?

Severn Trent pays an annual dividend of GBX 117 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.3%. Pennon Group pays an annual dividend of GBX 61 per share and has a dividend yield of 12.3%. Severn Trent pays out 195.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Pennon Group pays out -1,715.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Pennon Group is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Does the media prefer SVT or PNN?

In the previous week, Pennon Group had 4 more articles in the media than Severn Trent. MarketBeat recorded 6 mentions for Pennon Group and 2 mentions for Severn Trent. Pennon Group's average media sentiment score of 1.07 beat Severn Trent's score of 0.34 indicating that Pennon Group is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Severn Trent	0 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	2 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral
Pennon Group	2 Very Positive mention(s)	2 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Is SVT or PNN more profitable?

Severn Trent has a net margin of 6.00% compared to Pennon Group's net margin of -1.05%. Severn Trent's return on equity of 10.40% beat Pennon Group's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Severn Trent	6.00%	10.40%	2.35%
Pennon Group	-1.05%	-0.88%	1.81%

Do analysts rate SVT or PNN?

Severn Trent currently has a consensus target price of GBX 2,600, suggesting a potential downside of 5.39%. Pennon Group has a consensus target price of GBX 497, suggesting a potential upside of 0.20%. Given Pennon Group's higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Pennon Group is more favorable than Severn Trent.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Severn Trent	0 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	1 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.50
Pennon Group	0 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	0 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.00

Do insiders and institutionals hold more shares of SVT or PNN?

75.4% of Severn Trent shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 74.4% of Pennon Group shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.3% of Severn Trent shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 0.5% of Pennon Group shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Which has more volatility & risk, SVT or PNN?

Severn Trent has a beta of 0.38, meaning that its share price is 62% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Pennon Group has a beta of 0.29, meaning that its share price is 71% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Severn Trent beats Pennon Group on 12 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.