Duke Energy (DUK) Competitors

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

Do insiders and institutionals have more ownership in NEE or DUK?

78.7% of NextEra Energy shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 65.3% of Duke Energy shares are held by institutional investors. 0.2% of NextEra Energy shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 0.1% of Duke Energy shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Does the MarketBeat Community prefer NEE or DUK?

NextEra Energy received 163 more outperform votes than Duke Energy when rated by MarketBeat users. Likewise, 71.60% of users gave NextEra Energy an outperform vote while only 53.77% of users gave Duke Energy an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
NextEra Energy	Outperform Votes 784 71.60%	Underperform Votes 311 28.40%
Duke Energy	Outperform Votes 621 53.77%	Underperform Votes 534 46.23%

Is NEE or DUK more profitable?

NextEra Energy has a net margin of 28.06% compared to Duke Energy's net margin of 14.90%. NextEra Energy's return on equity of 11.85% beat Duke Energy's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
NextEra Energy	28.06%	11.85%	3.81%
Duke Energy	14.90%	9.50%	2.56%

Which has more volatility and risk, NEE or DUK?

NextEra Energy has a beta of 0.68, meaning that its stock price is 32% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Duke Energy has a beta of 0.37, meaning that its stock price is 63% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Does the media refer more to NEE or DUK?

In the previous week, Duke Energy had 10 more articles in the media than NextEra Energy. MarketBeat recorded 47 mentions for Duke Energy and 37 mentions for NextEra Energy. NextEra Energy's average media sentiment score of 1.54 beat Duke Energy's score of 1.10 indicating that NextEra Energy is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
NextEra Energy	34 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	1 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Very Positive
Duke Energy	35 Very Positive mention(s)	8 Positive mention(s)	2 Neutral mention(s)	1 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Is NEE or DUK a better dividend stock?

NextEra Energy pays an annual dividend of $2.26 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.0%. Duke Energy pays an annual dividend of $4.18 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.6%. NextEra Energy pays out 84.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Duke Energy pays out 69.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. NextEra Energy has increased its dividend for 31 consecutive years and Duke Energy has increased its dividend for 20 consecutive years. Duke Energy is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Do analysts rate NEE or DUK?

NextEra Energy presently has a consensus price target of $84.50, indicating a potential upside of 13.12%. Duke Energy has a consensus price target of $125.81, indicating a potential upside of 7.76%. Given NextEra Energy's stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities research analysts plainly believe NextEra Energy is more favorable than Duke Energy.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
NextEra Energy	0 Sell rating(s)	7 Hold rating(s)	8 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.53
Duke Energy	0 Sell rating(s)	8 Hold rating(s)	9 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.53

Which has stronger valuation & earnings, NEE or DUK?

NextEra Energy has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Duke Energy. Duke Energy is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than NextEra 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
NextEra Energy	$25.27B	6.09	$6.95B	$2.67	27.98
Duke Energy	$30.94B	2.93	$4.52B	$6.03	19.36

Summary

NextEra Energy beats Duke Energy on 15 of the 21 factors compared between the two stocks.