AES (AES) Competitors

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

Do insiders and institutionals hold more shares of NRG or AES?

97.7% of NRG Energy shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 93.1% of AES shares are held by institutional investors. 0.9% of NRG Energy shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.6% of AES shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Does the media refer more to NRG or AES?

In the previous week, AES had 1 more articles in the media than NRG Energy. MarketBeat recorded 28 mentions for AES and 27 mentions for NRG Energy. NRG Energy's average media sentiment score of 1.38 beat AES's score of 0.26 indicating that NRG Energy is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
NRG Energy	23 Very Positive mention(s)	2 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	1 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
AES	9 Very Positive mention(s)	2 Positive mention(s)	12 Neutral mention(s)	3 Negative mention(s)	1 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral

Which has more risk & volatility, NRG or AES?

NRG Energy has a beta of 1.14, meaning that its stock price is 14% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, AES has a beta of 0.93, meaning that its stock price is 7% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Is NRG or AES a better dividend stock?

NRG Energy pays an annual dividend of $1.76 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.1%. AES pays an annual dividend of $0.70 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.8%. NRG Energy pays out 79.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. AES pays out 49.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. NRG Energy has raised its dividend for 1 consecutive years and AES has raised its dividend for 12 consecutive years. AES is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Do analysts recommend NRG or AES?

NRG Energy currently has a consensus target price of $188.85, suggesting a potential upside of 15.30%. AES has a consensus target price of $23.70, suggesting a potential upside of 63.39%. Given AES's higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe AES is more favorable than NRG Energy.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
NRG Energy	0 Sell rating(s)	3 Hold rating(s)	10 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.86
AES	3 Sell rating(s)	3 Hold rating(s)	6 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.38

Which has better valuation & earnings, NRG or AES?

AES has lower revenue, but higher earnings than NRG Energy. AES is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than NRG Energy, 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
NRG Energy	$29.37B	1.08	$1.13B	$2.21	74.11
AES	$12.03B	0.86	$1.68B	$1.42	10.21

Is NRG or AES more profitable?

AES has a net margin of 8.42% compared to NRG Energy's net margin of 1.78%. NRG Energy's return on equity of 88.22% beat AES's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
NRG Energy	1.78%	88.22%	6.80%
AES	8.42%	19.02%	3.01%

Summary

NRG Energy beats AES on 12 of the 19 factors compared between the two stocks.