PPL (PPL) Competitors

PPL (NYSE:PPL) and Southern (NYSE:SO) are both large-cap utilities companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, community ranking, profitability, valuation, risk, earnings, media sentiment and dividends.

Does the media prefer PPL or SO?

In the previous week, Southern had 36 more articles in the media than PPL. MarketBeat recorded 42 mentions for Southern and 6 mentions for PPL. Southern's average media sentiment score of 1.37 beat PPL's score of 0.14 indicating that Southern is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
PPL	0 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	5 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral
Southern	27 Very Positive mention(s)	4 Positive mention(s)	4 Neutral mention(s)	1 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Which has more volatility & risk, PPL or SO?

PPL has a beta of 0.7, indicating that its share price is 30% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Southern has a beta of 0.4, indicating that its share price is 60% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Do insiders and institutionals believe in PPL or SO?

77.0% of PPL shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 64.1% of Southern shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.3% of PPL shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 0.2% of Southern shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Is PPL or SO more profitable?

Southern has a net margin of 16.47% compared to PPL's net margin of 10.49%. Southern's return on equity of 12.23% beat PPL's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
PPL	10.49%	8.88%	3.11%
Southern	16.47%	12.23%	3.11%

Which has stronger earnings and valuation, PPL or SO?

Southern has higher revenue and earnings than PPL. Southern is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than PPL, 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
PPL	$8.66B	2.96	$888M	$1.35	25.68
Southern	$27.85B	3.55	$3.98B	$4.19	21.49

Is PPL or SO a better dividend stock?

PPL pays an annual dividend of $1.09 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.1%. Southern pays an annual dividend of $2.96 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.3%. PPL pays out 80.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Southern pays out 70.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. PPL has raised its dividend for 3 consecutive years and Southern has raised its dividend for 25 consecutive years. Southern is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Do analysts prefer PPL or SO?

PPL currently has a consensus price target of $36.90, indicating a potential upside of 6.45%. Southern has a consensus price target of $92.21, indicating a potential upside of 2.41%. Given PPL's stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities research analysts plainly believe PPL is more favorable than Southern.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
PPL	0 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	7 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.90
Southern	1 Sell rating(s)	10 Hold rating(s)	4 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.20

Does the MarketBeat Community prefer PPL or SO?

PPL received 55 more outperform votes than Southern when rated by MarketBeat users. Likewise, 60.68% of users gave PPL an outperform vote while only 49.26% of users gave Southern an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
PPL	Outperform Votes 591 60.68%	Underperform Votes 383 39.32%
Southern	Outperform Votes 536 49.26%	Underperform Votes 552 50.74%

Summary

Southern beats PPL on 11 of the 21 factors compared between the two stocks.