Ameren (AEE) Competitors

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

Does the media prefer AEE or SRE?

In the previous week, Sempra had 3 more articles in the media than Ameren. MarketBeat recorded 14 mentions for Sempra and 11 mentions for Ameren. Sempra's average media sentiment score of 1.26 beat Ameren's score of 0.83 indicating that Sempra is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Ameren	7 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	2 Neutral mention(s)	1 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Sempra	11 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	3 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Which has more volatility and risk, AEE or SRE?

Ameren has a beta of 0.49, suggesting that its stock price is 51% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Sempra has a beta of 0.64, suggesting that its stock price is 36% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Does the MarketBeat Community favor AEE or SRE?

Sempra received 127 more outperform votes than Ameren when rated by MarketBeat users. Likewise, 60.27% of users gave Sempra an outperform vote while only 51.55% of users gave Ameren an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
Ameren	Outperform Votes 366 51.55%	Underperform Votes 344 48.45%
Sempra	Outperform Votes 493 60.27%	Underperform Votes 325 39.73%

Which has higher valuation and earnings, AEE or SRE?

Sempra has higher revenue and earnings than Ameren. Sempra is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Ameren, 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
Ameren	$7.90B	3.27	$1.18B	$4.51	21.18
Sempra	$13.35B	3.61	$3.08B	$4.55	16.25

Do insiders and institutionals believe in AEE or SRE?

79.1% of Ameren shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 89.7% of Sempra shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.4% of Ameren shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 0.3% of Sempra shares are owned by 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.

Do analysts recommend AEE or SRE?

Ameren currently has a consensus price target of $102.00, indicating a potential upside of 6.78%. Sempra has a consensus price target of $80.75, indicating a potential upside of 9.21%. Given Sempra's higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Sempra is more favorable than Ameren.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Ameren	0 Sell rating(s)	4 Hold rating(s)	7 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.75
Sempra	0 Sell rating(s)	6 Hold rating(s)	7 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.54

Is AEE or SRE more profitable?

Sempra has a net margin of 22.63% compared to Ameren's net margin of 15.51%. Ameren's return on equity of 10.34% beat Sempra's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Ameren	15.51%	10.34%	2.86%
Sempra	22.63%	8.06%	3.04%

Is AEE or SRE a better dividend stock?

Ameren pays an annual dividend of $2.84 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.0%. Sempra pays an annual dividend of $2.58 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.5%. Ameren pays out 63.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Sempra pays out 56.7% 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. Ameren has increased its dividend for 12 consecutive years and Sempra has increased its dividend for 22 consecutive years. Sempra is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Summary

Sempra beats Ameren on 16 of the 21 factors compared between the two stocks.