The Southern Competitors

NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) and The Southern (NYSE:SO) are both large-cap utilities companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, valuation, risk, dividends, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations and earnings.

Dividends

NextEra Energy pays an annual dividend of $1.54 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.1%. The Southern pays an annual dividend of $2.56 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.9%. NextEra Energy pays out 73.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. The Southern pays out 82.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. NextEra Energy has raised its dividend for 1 consecutive years and The Southern has raised its dividend for 19 consecutive years. The Southern is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings and price targets for NextEra Energy and The Southern, as provided by MarketBeat.

NextEra Energy presently has a consensus target price of $78.8333, suggesting a potential upside of 7.74%. The Southern has a consensus target price of $66.3333, suggesting a potential upside of 1.41%. Given NextEra Energy's stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities analysts clearly believe NextEra Energy is more favorable than The Southern.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares NextEra Energy and The Southern's top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

The Southern has higher revenue and earnings than NextEra Energy. The Southern is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than NextEra Energy, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

19.2% of NextEra Energy shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 57.6% of The Southern shares are held by institutional investors. 0.4% of NextEra Energy shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.4% of The Southern shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Risk and Volatility

NextEra Energy has a beta of 0.16, indicating that its stock price is 84% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, The Southern has a beta of 0.39, indicating that its stock price is 61% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares NextEra Energy and The Southern's net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

Summary

NextEra Energy beats The Southern on 10 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

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

Risk & Volatility

Duke Energy has a beta of 0.23, indicating that its share price is 77% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, The Southern has a beta of 0.39, indicating that its share price is 61% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Duke Energy and The Southern's net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Duke Energy and The Southern's revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

The Southern has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Duke Energy. Duke Energy is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than The Southern, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

63.5% of Duke Energy shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 57.6% of The Southern shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.1% of Duke Energy shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 0.4% of The Southern shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Dividends

Duke Energy pays an annual dividend of $3.86 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.7%. The Southern pays an annual dividend of $2.56 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.9%. Duke Energy pays out 76.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. The Southern pays out 82.3% 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 raised its dividend for 14 consecutive years and The Southern has raised its dividend for 19 consecutive years. The Southern is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current recommendations and price targets for Duke Energy and The Southern, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

Duke Energy presently has a consensus target price of $102.50, suggesting a potential downside of 0.57%. The Southern has a consensus target price of $66.3333, suggesting a potential upside of 1.41%. Given The Southern's stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe The Southern is more favorable than Duke Energy.

Summary

The Southern beats Duke Energy on 12 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

The Southern (NYSE:SO) and Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) are both large-cap utilities companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, earnings, institutional ownership, valuation, dividends, risk and profitability.

Risk and Volatility

The Southern has a beta of 0.39, indicating that its stock price is 61% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Eversource Energy has a beta of 0.28, indicating that its stock price is 72% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares The Southern and Eversource Energy's net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares The Southern and Eversource Energy's gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

The Southern has higher revenue and earnings than Eversource Energy. The Southern is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Eversource Energy, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

57.6% of The Southern shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 76.8% of Eversource Energy shares are held by institutional investors. 0.4% of The Southern shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.3% of Eversource Energy shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Dividends

The Southern pays an annual dividend of $2.56 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.9%. Eversource Energy pays an annual dividend of $2.41 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.8%. The Southern pays out 82.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Eversource Energy pays out 69.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. The Southern has increased its dividend for 19 consecutive years and Eversource Energy has increased its dividend for 1 consecutive years. The Southern is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current recommendations for The Southern and Eversource Energy, as provided by MarketBeat.

The Southern currently has a consensus price target of $66.3333, suggesting a potential upside of 1.41%. Eversource Energy has a consensus price target of $90.1818, suggesting a potential upside of 5.09%. Given Eversource Energy's higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Eversource Energy is more favorable than The Southern.

Summary

The Southern beats Eversource Energy on 10 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

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

Risk and Volatility

The Southern has a beta of 0.39, indicating that its stock price is 61% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, PPL has a beta of 0.72, indicating that its stock price is 28% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares The Southern and PPL's net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares The Southern and PPL's gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

The Southern has higher revenue and earnings than PPL. PPL is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than The Southern, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

57.6% of The Southern shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 67.2% of PPL shares are held by institutional investors. 0.4% of The Southern shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.2% of PPL shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Dividends

The Southern pays an annual dividend of $2.56 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.9%. PPL pays an annual dividend of $1.66 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.7%. The Southern pays out 82.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. PPL pays out 67.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. The Southern has increased its dividend for 19 consecutive years and PPL has increased its dividend for 9 consecutive years. PPL is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current recommendations for The Southern and PPL, as provided by MarketBeat.

The Southern currently has a consensus price target of $66.3333, suggesting a potential upside of 1.41%. PPL has a consensus price target of $32.9583, suggesting a potential upside of 12.76%. Given PPL's higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe PPL is more favorable than The Southern.

Summary

The Southern beats PPL on 9 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

The Southern (NYSE:SO) and Edison International (NYSE:EIX) are both large-cap utilities companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, earnings, institutional ownership, valuation, dividends, risk and profitability.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

57.6% of The Southern shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 87.6% of Edison International shares are held by institutional investors. 0.4% of The Southern shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.6% of Edison International shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Risk and Volatility

The Southern has a beta of 0.39, indicating that its stock price is 61% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Edison International has a beta of 0.52, indicating that its stock price is 48% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

The Southern pays an annual dividend of $2.56 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.9%. Edison International pays an annual dividend of $2.65 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.5%. The Southern pays out 82.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Edison International pays out 56.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. The Southern has increased its dividend for 19 consecutive years and Edison International has increased its dividend for 1 consecutive years. Edison International is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current recommendations for The Southern and Edison International, as provided by MarketBeat.

The Southern currently has a consensus price target of $66.3333, suggesting a potential upside of 1.41%. Edison International has a consensus price target of $68.1429, suggesting a potential upside of 16.44%. Given Edison International's stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Edison International is more favorable than The Southern.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares The Southern and Edison International's gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

The Southern has higher revenue and earnings than Edison International. Edison International is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than The Southern, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares The Southern and Edison International's net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

Summary

Edison International beats The Southern on 10 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

Entergy (NYSE:ETR) and The Southern (NYSE:SO) are both large-cap utilities companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, valuation, profitability, dividends, earnings and risk.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

84.6% of Entergy shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 57.6% of The Southern shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.3% of Entergy shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.4% of The Southern shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Volatility & Risk

Entergy has a beta of 0.5, indicating that its share price is 50% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, The Southern has a beta of 0.39, indicating that its share price is 61% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent recommendations and price targets for Entergy and The Southern, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

Entergy currently has a consensus target price of $116.80, suggesting a potential upside of 9.16%. The Southern has a consensus target price of $66.3333, suggesting a potential upside of 1.41%. Given Entergy's stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities research analysts clearly believe Entergy is more favorable than The Southern.

Dividends

Entergy pays an annual dividend of $3.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.5%. The Southern pays an annual dividend of $2.56 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.9%. Entergy pays out 70.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. The Southern pays out 82.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Entergy has raised its dividend for 6 consecutive years and The Southern has raised its dividend for 19 consecutive years. The Southern is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Entergy and The Southern's revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

The Southern has higher revenue and earnings than Entergy. Entergy is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than The Southern, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares Entergy and The Southern's net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

Summary

The Southern beats Entergy on 9 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.