Ameren (AEE) Competitors

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) and Ameren (NYSE:AEE) are both large-cap utilities companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, earnings, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, profitability, dividends, media sentiment and valuation.

Which has more risk and volatility, AEP or AEE?

American Electric Power has a beta of 0.42, suggesting that its share price is 58% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Ameren has a beta of 0.48, suggesting that its share price is 52% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Do analysts prefer AEP or AEE?

American Electric Power presently has a consensus price target of $108.31, suggesting a potential upside of 2.24%. Ameren has a consensus price target of $101.36, suggesting a potential upside of 4.09%. Given Ameren's stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Ameren is more favorable than American Electric Power.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
American Electric Power	1 Sell rating(s)	7 Hold rating(s)	5 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.31
Ameren	0 Sell rating(s)	5 Hold rating(s)	7 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.69

Is AEP or AEE a better dividend stock?

American Electric Power pays an annual dividend of $3.72 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.5%. Ameren pays an annual dividend of $2.84 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.9%. American Electric Power pays out 71.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Ameren pays out 63.0% 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. American Electric Power has increased its dividend for 15 consecutive years and Ameren has increased its dividend for 12 consecutive years. American Electric Power is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Do insiders & institutionals believe in AEP or AEE?

75.2% of American Electric Power shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 79.1% of Ameren shares are held by institutional investors. 0.1% of American Electric Power shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.4% of Ameren shares are held 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.

Does the media prefer AEP or AEE?

In the previous week, American Electric Power had 13 more articles in the media than Ameren. MarketBeat recorded 25 mentions for American Electric Power and 12 mentions for Ameren. American Electric Power's average media sentiment score of 1.18 beat Ameren's score of 0.69 indicating that American Electric Power is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
American Electric Power	21 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	3 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Ameren	6 Very Positive mention(s)	2 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	1 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Which has preferable valuation and earnings, AEP or AEE?

American Electric Power has higher revenue and earnings than Ameren. American Electric Power 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
American Electric Power	$19.72B	2.87	$2.97B	$5.19	20.41
Ameren	$7.62B	3.45	$1.18B	$4.51	21.59

Is AEP or AEE more profitable?

Ameren has a net margin of 15.31% compared to American Electric Power's net margin of 13.73%. American Electric Power's return on equity of 11.68% beat Ameren's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
American Electric Power	13.73%	11.68%	3.08%
Ameren	15.31%	10.40%	2.85%

Summary

Ameren beats American Electric Power on 11 of the 20 factors compared between the two stocks.