NRG Energy (NRG) Competitors

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

Which has better earnings and valuation, DUK or NRG?

Duke Energy has higher revenue and earnings than NRG Energy. Duke Energy is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than NRG 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
Duke Energy	$30.36B	3.29	$4.52B	$6.15	20.89
NRG Energy	$28.13B	1.17	$1.13B	$2.21	76.81

Which has more volatility and risk, DUK or NRG?

Duke Energy has a beta of 0.44, suggesting that its share price is 56% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, NRG Energy has a beta of 1.14, suggesting that its share price is 14% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Do analysts rate DUK or NRG?

Duke Energy presently has a consensus price target of $136.77, indicating a potential upside of 6.45%. NRG Energy has a consensus price target of $188.85, indicating a potential upside of 11.24%. Given NRG Energy's stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe NRG Energy is more favorable than Duke Energy.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Duke Energy	0 Sell rating(s)	6 Hold rating(s)	11 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.65
NRG Energy	0 Sell rating(s)	3 Hold rating(s)	10 Buy rating(s)	2 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.93

Is DUK or NRG more profitable?

Duke Energy has a net margin of 15.51% compared to NRG Energy's net margin of 1.78%. NRG Energy's return on equity of 88.22% beat Duke Energy's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Duke Energy	15.51%	9.85%	2.65%
NRG Energy	1.78%	88.22%	6.80%

Is DUK or NRG a better dividend stock?

Duke Energy pays an annual dividend of $4.26 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.3%. NRG Energy pays an annual dividend of $1.76 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.0%. Duke Energy pays out 69.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. NRG Energy pays out 79.6% 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 has increased its dividend for 20 consecutive years and NRG Energy has increased its dividend for 1 consecutive years. Duke Energy is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Does the media favor DUK or NRG?

In the previous week, Duke Energy had 29 more articles in the media than NRG Energy. MarketBeat recorded 58 mentions for Duke Energy and 29 mentions for NRG Energy. NRG Energy's average media sentiment score of 1.35 beat Duke Energy's score of 1.04 indicating that NRG Energy is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Duke Energy	36 Very Positive mention(s)	7 Positive mention(s)	4 Neutral mention(s)	1 Negative mention(s)	1 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
NRG Energy	25 Very Positive mention(s)	3 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

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

65.3% of Duke Energy shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 97.7% of NRG Energy shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.1% of Duke Energy shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.9% of NRG Energy shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

Duke Energy and NRG Energy tied by winning 10 of the 20 factors compared between the two stocks.