CenterPoint Energy (CNP) Competitors

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

Do analysts recommend SRE or CNP?

Sempra presently has a consensus target price of $80.54, suggesting a potential upside of 7.79%. CenterPoint Energy has a consensus target price of $35.79, suggesting a potential downside of 7.30%. Given Sempra's stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities research analysts clearly believe Sempra is more favorable than CenterPoint Energy.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Sempra	0 Sell rating(s)	6 Hold rating(s)	8 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.57
CenterPoint Energy	0 Sell rating(s)	8 Hold rating(s)	6 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.43

Does the MarketBeat Community favor SRE or CNP?

Sempra received 28 more outperform votes than CenterPoint Energy when rated by MarketBeat users. Likewise, 60.29% of users gave Sempra an outperform vote while only 54.91% of users gave CenterPoint Energy an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
Sempra	Outperform Votes 492 60.29%	Underperform Votes 324 39.71%
CenterPoint Energy	Outperform Votes 464 54.91%	Underperform Votes 381 45.09%

Which has more risk & volatility, SRE or CNP?

Sempra has a beta of 0.65, meaning that its share price is 35% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, CenterPoint Energy has a beta of 0.65, meaning that its share price is 35% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Does the media refer more to SRE or CNP?

In the previous week, CenterPoint Energy had 9 more articles in the media than Sempra. MarketBeat recorded 32 mentions for CenterPoint Energy and 23 mentions for Sempra. CenterPoint Energy's average media sentiment score of 1.27 beat Sempra's score of 1.06 indicating that CenterPoint Energy is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Sempra	18 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	2 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	2 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
CenterPoint Energy	21 Very Positive mention(s)	8 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	1 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Is SRE or CNP more profitable?

Sempra has a net margin of 22.63% compared to CenterPoint Energy's net margin of 11.79%. CenterPoint Energy's return on equity of 10.02% beat Sempra's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Sempra	22.63%	8.06%	3.04%
CenterPoint Energy	11.79%	10.02%	2.48%

Which has preferable valuation & earnings, SRE or CNP?

Sempra has higher revenue and earnings than CenterPoint Energy. Sempra is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than CenterPoint 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
Sempra	$13.19B	3.69	$3.08B	$4.42	16.90
CenterPoint Energy	$8.94B	2.82	$917M	$1.49	25.91

Is SRE or CNP a better dividend stock?

Sempra pays an annual dividend of $2.58 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.5%. CenterPoint Energy pays an annual dividend of $0.88 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.3%. Sempra pays out 58.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. CenterPoint Energy pays out 59.1% 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. 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.

Do institutionals & insiders believe in SRE or CNP?

89.7% of Sempra shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 91.8% of CenterPoint Energy shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.3% of Sempra shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.1% of CenterPoint Energy shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

Sempra beats CenterPoint Energy on 15 of the 20 factors compared between the two stocks.