Fortis (FTS) Competitors

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

Do analysts rate AEP or FTS?

American Electric Power presently has a consensus price target of $111.29, indicating a potential downside of 1.21%. Fortis has a consensus price target of $72.00, indicating a potential upside of 41.85%. Given Fortis' stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Fortis is more favorable than American Electric Power.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
American Electric Power	1 Sell rating(s)	8 Hold rating(s)	5 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.29
Fortis	2 Sell rating(s)	4 Hold rating(s)	4 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.36

Does the media favor AEP or FTS?

In the previous week, American Electric Power had 25 more articles in the media than Fortis. MarketBeat recorded 37 mentions for American Electric Power and 12 mentions for Fortis. American Electric Power's average media sentiment score of 1.44 beat Fortis' score of 1.02 indicating that American Electric Power is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
American Electric Power	32 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	3 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Fortis	6 Very Positive mention(s)	2 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	1 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Do institutionals and insiders believe in AEP or FTS?

75.2% of American Electric Power shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 57.8% of Fortis shares are held by institutional investors. 0.1% of American Electric Power shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Which has more risk and volatility, AEP or FTS?

American Electric Power has a beta of 0.4, meaning that its share price is 60% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Fortis has a beta of 0.46, meaning that its share price is 54% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Which has stronger valuation & earnings, AEP or FTS?

American Electric Power has higher revenue and earnings than Fortis. American Electric Power is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Fortis, 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	$20.67B	2.91	$2.97B	$6.84	16.47
Fortis	$8.40B	3.04	$1.23B	$2.43	20.89

Is AEP or FTS more profitable?

American Electric Power has a net margin of 17.68% compared to Fortis' net margin of 14.48%. American Electric Power's return on equity of 11.55% beat Fortis' return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
American Electric Power	17.68%	11.55%	3.11%
Fortis	14.48%	7.24%	2.38%

Is AEP or FTS a better dividend stock?

American Electric Power pays an annual dividend of $3.72 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.3%. Fortis pays an annual dividend of $1.78 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.5%. American Electric Power pays out 54.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Fortis pays out 73.3% 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 Fortis has increased its dividend for 5 consecutive years.

Summary

American Electric Power beats Fortis on 13 of the 20 factors compared between the two stocks.