Alliant Energy (LNT) Competitors

Alliant Energy (NASDAQ:LNT) and NiSource (NYSE:NI) are both large-cap utilities companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, community ranking, profitability, valuation, risk, earnings, media sentiment and dividends.

Which has more volatility & risk, LNT or NI?

Alliant Energy has a beta of 0.58, indicating that its share price is 42% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, NiSource has a beta of 0.51, indicating that its share price is 49% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Does the media prefer LNT or NI?

In the previous week, Alliant Energy had 7 more articles in the media than NiSource. MarketBeat recorded 15 mentions for Alliant Energy and 8 mentions for NiSource. Alliant Energy's average media sentiment score of 0.94 beat NiSource's score of 0.68 indicating that Alliant Energy is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Alliant Energy	4 Very Positive mention(s)	5 Positive mention(s)	2 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
NiSource	5 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	2 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Does the MarketBeat Community prefer LNT or NI?

NiSource received 396 more outperform votes than Alliant Energy when rated by MarketBeat users. Likewise, 54.57% of users gave NiSource an outperform vote while only 35.90% of users gave Alliant Energy an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
Alliant Energy	Outperform Votes 28 35.90%	Underperform Votes 50 64.10%
NiSource	Outperform Votes 424 54.57%	Underperform Votes 353 45.43%

Do insiders and institutionals believe in LNT or NI?

79.9% of Alliant Energy shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 91.6% of NiSource shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.3% of Alliant Energy shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 0.1% of NiSource shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Is LNT or NI more profitable?

Alliant Energy has a net margin of 15.77% compared to NiSource's net margin of 14.76%. Alliant Energy's return on equity of 10.23% beat NiSource's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Alliant Energy	15.77%	10.23%	3.26%
NiSource	14.76%	9.15%	2.78%

Is LNT or NI a better dividend stock?

Alliant Energy pays an annual dividend of $1.92 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.1%. NiSource pays an annual dividend of $1.06 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.1%. Alliant Energy pays out 69.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. NiSource pays out 69.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Alliant Energy has raised its dividend for 21 consecutive years and NiSource has raised its dividend for 13 consecutive years. Alliant Energy is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Which has stronger earnings and valuation, LNT or NI?

NiSource has higher revenue and earnings than Alliant Energy. Alliant Energy is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than NiSource, 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
Alliant Energy	$3.96B	3.95	$703M	$2.75	22.21
NiSource	$5.24B	2.95	$714.30M	$1.53	22.54

Do analysts prefer LNT or NI?

Alliant Energy currently has a consensus price target of $62.83, indicating a potential upside of 2.87%. NiSource has a consensus price target of $35.00, indicating a potential upside of 1.48%. Given Alliant Energy's higher possible upside, equities research analysts plainly believe Alliant Energy is more favorable than NiSource.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Alliant Energy	0 Sell rating(s)	5 Hold rating(s)	4 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.44
NiSource	0 Sell rating(s)	0 Hold rating(s)	5 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	3.00

Summary

Alliant Energy beats NiSource on 13 of the 21 factors compared between the two stocks.