UU vs. SVT, PNN, SSE, CNA, UKW, DRX, GLO, TEP, GRP, and MAST
Should you be buying United Utilities Group stock or one of its competitors? The main competitors of United Utilities Group include Severn Trent (SVT), Pennon Group (PNN), SSE (SSE), Centrica (CNA), Greencoat UK Wind (UKW), Drax Group (DRX), ContourGlobal (GLO), Telecom Plus (TEP), Greencoat Renewables (GRP), and MAST Energy Developments (MAST). These companies are all part of the "utilities" sector.
United Utilities Group vs. Its Competitors
Severn Trent (LON:SVT) and United Utilities Group (LON:UU) are both mid-cap utilities companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, media sentiment, institutional ownership, valuation, earnings, risk, profitability and dividends.
Severn Trent has a beta of 0.38, indicating that its share price is 62% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, United Utilities Group has a beta of 0.41, indicating that its share price is 59% less volatile than the S&P 500.
Severn Trent currently has a consensus price target of GBX 2,992.50, indicating a potential upside of 15.41%. United Utilities Group has a consensus price target of GBX 1,535, indicating a potential upside of 33.25%. Given United Utilities Group's stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe United Utilities Group is more favorable than Severn Trent.
Severn Trent pays an annual dividend of GBX 117 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.5%. United Utilities Group pays an annual dividend of GBX 50 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.3%. 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. United Utilities Group pays out 269.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Severn Trent is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.
75.4% of Severn Trent shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 65.3% of United Utilities Group shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.3% of Severn Trent shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.1% of United Utilities Group 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.
In the previous week, Severn Trent had 1 more articles in the media than United Utilities Group. MarketBeat recorded 3 mentions for Severn Trent and 2 mentions for United Utilities Group. United Utilities Group's average media sentiment score of 0.64 beat Severn Trent's score of 0.00 indicating that United Utilities Group is being referred to more favorably in the news media.
Severn Trent has higher revenue and earnings than United Utilities Group. Severn Trent is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than United Utilities Group, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
United Utilities Group has a net margin of 6.51% compared to Severn Trent's net margin of 6.00%. Severn Trent's return on equity of 10.40% beat United Utilities Group's return on equity.
Summary
Severn Trent beats United Utilities Group on 10 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.
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New MarketBeat Followers Over Time
This chart shows the number of new MarketBeat users adding UU and its top 5 competitors to their watchlist. Each company is represented with a line over a 90 day period.
Media Sentiment Over Time
This chart shows the average media sentiment of LON and its competitors over the past 90 days as caculated by MarketBeat. The averaged score is equivalent to the following: Very Negative Sentiment <= -1.5, Negative Sentiment > -1.5 and <= -0.5, Neutral Sentiment > -0.5 and < 0.5, Positive Sentiment >= 0.5 and < 1.5, and Very Positive Sentiment >= 1.5.
United Utilities Group Competitors List
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This page (LON:UU) was last updated on 8/29/2025 by MarketBeat.com Staff
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