Chesapeake Utilities (CPK) Competitors

Alliant Energy (NASDAQ:LNT) and Chesapeake Utilities (NYSE:CPK) are both utilities companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their risk, dividends, profitability, media sentiment, valuation, institutional ownership, earnings and analyst recommendations.

Do analysts rate LNT or CPK?

Alliant Energy currently has a consensus target price of $63.95, indicating a potential upside of 3.68%. Chesapeake Utilities has a consensus target price of $126.50, indicating a potential upside of 2.82%. Given Alliant Energy's higher probable upside, research analysts clearly believe Alliant Energy is more favorable than Chesapeake Utilities.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Alliant Energy	1 Sell rating(s)	5 Hold rating(s)	4 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.30
Chesapeake Utilities	0 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	0 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.67

Does the media favor LNT or CPK?

In the previous week, Alliant Energy had 8 more articles in the media than Chesapeake Utilities. MarketBeat recorded 12 mentions for Alliant Energy and 4 mentions for Chesapeake Utilities. Alliant Energy's average media sentiment score of 1.48 beat Chesapeake Utilities' score of 0.74 indicating that Alliant Energy is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Alliant Energy	10 Very Positive mention(s)	2 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Chesapeake Utilities	2 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	2 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Is LNT or CPK more profitable?

Alliant Energy has a net margin of 18.26% compared to Chesapeake Utilities' net margin of 14.69%. Alliant Energy's return on equity of 12.01% beat Chesapeake Utilities' return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Alliant Energy	18.26%	12.01%	3.71%
Chesapeake Utilities	14.69%	9.19%	3.57%

Is LNT or CPK a better dividend stock?

Alliant Energy pays an annual dividend of $2.03 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.3%. Chesapeake Utilities pays an annual dividend of $2.74 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.2%. Alliant Energy pays out 70.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Chesapeake Utilities pays out 50.6% 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. Alliant Energy has increased its dividend for 22 consecutive years and Chesapeake Utilities has increased its dividend for 22 consecutive years.

Do institutionals and insiders hold more shares of LNT or CPK?

79.9% of Alliant Energy shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 83.1% of Chesapeake Utilities shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.3% of Alliant Energy shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 2.7% of Chesapeake Utilities shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Which has better valuation & earnings, LNT or CPK?

Alliant Energy has higher revenue and earnings than Chesapeake Utilities. Alliant Energy is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Chesapeake Utilities, 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
Alliant Energy	$3.98B	3.98	$690M	$2.90	21.27
Chesapeake Utilities	$787.20M	3.65	$118.60M	$5.41	22.74

Which has more risk and volatility, LNT or CPK?

Alliant Energy has a beta of 0.56, indicating that its stock price is 44% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Chesapeake Utilities has a beta of 0.65, indicating that its stock price is 35% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Alliant Energy beats Chesapeake Utilities on 11 of the 19 factors compared between the two stocks.