CenterPoint Energy (CNP) Competitors

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

Does the media prefer AEP or CNP?

In the previous week, American Electric Power had 19 more articles in the media than CenterPoint Energy. MarketBeat recorded 26 mentions for American Electric Power and 7 mentions for CenterPoint Energy. CenterPoint Energy's average media sentiment score of 1.40 beat American Electric Power's score of 1.26 indicating that CenterPoint Energy is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
American Electric Power	19 Very Positive mention(s)	2 Positive mention(s)	4 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
CenterPoint Energy	5 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	2 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Is AEP or CNP more profitable?

American Electric Power has a net margin of 13.73% compared to CenterPoint Energy's net margin of 10.80%. American Electric Power's return on equity of 11.68% beat CenterPoint Energy's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
American Electric Power	13.73%	11.68%	3.08%
CenterPoint Energy	10.80%	9.74%	2.41%

Do insiders and institutionals hold more shares of AEP or CNP?

75.2% of American Electric Power shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 91.8% of CenterPoint Energy shares are held by institutional investors. 0.1% of American Electric Power shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 0.1% of CenterPoint Energy shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Do analysts recommend AEP or CNP?

American Electric Power currently has a consensus price target of $108.31, suggesting a potential upside of 3.05%. CenterPoint Energy has a consensus price target of $36.04, suggesting a potential downside of 0.20%. Given American Electric Power's higher possible upside, equities research analysts plainly believe American Electric Power is more favorable than CenterPoint Energy.

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
CenterPoint Energy	0 Sell rating(s)	9 Hold rating(s)	5 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.36

Which has higher earnings and valuation, AEP or CNP?

American Electric Power has higher revenue and earnings than CenterPoint Energy. American Electric Power 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
American Electric Power	$19.72B	2.85	$2.97B	$5.19	20.25
CenterPoint Energy	$8.64B	2.73	$1.02B	$1.49	24.24

Which has more volatility and risk, AEP or CNP?

American Electric Power has a beta of 0.42, meaning that its stock price is 58% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, CenterPoint Energy has a beta of 0.57, meaning that its stock price is 43% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Is AEP or CNP a better dividend stock?

American Electric Power pays an annual dividend of $3.72 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 2.4%. American Electric Power pays out 71.7% 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. American Electric Power has increased its dividend for 15 consecutive years and CenterPoint Energy has increased its dividend for 5 consecutive years. American Electric Power is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Summary

American Electric Power beats CenterPoint Energy on 11 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.