Sempra Energy (SRE) Competitors

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

Which has more risk and volatility, AEP or SRE?

American Electric Power has a beta of 0.4, indicating that its stock price is 60% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Sempra Energy has a beta of 0.62, indicating that its stock price is 38% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Do analysts recommend AEP or SRE?

American Electric Power currently has a consensus target price of $111.29, suggesting a potential downside of 0.63%. Sempra Energy has a consensus target price of $81.58, suggesting a potential downside of 0.61%. Given Sempra Energy's stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Sempra Energy 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
Sempra Energy	0 Sell rating(s)	6 Hold rating(s)	7 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.54

Does the media favor AEP or SRE?

In the previous week, Sempra Energy had 3 more articles in the media than American Electric Power. MarketBeat recorded 36 mentions for Sempra Energy and 33 mentions for American Electric Power. American Electric Power's average media sentiment score of 1.55 beat Sempra Energy's score of 1.35 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	30 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Very Positive
Sempra Energy	26 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	8 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Which has better earnings and valuation, AEP or SRE?

American Electric Power has higher revenue and earnings than Sempra Energy. American Electric Power is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Sempra 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
American Electric Power	$19.72B	3.04	$2.97B	$6.84	16.37
Sempra Energy	$13.19B	4.06	$2.86B	$4.14	19.83

Is AEP or SRE a better dividend stock?

American Electric Power pays an annual dividend of $3.72 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.3%. Sempra Energy pays an annual dividend of $2.58 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.1%. American Electric Power pays out 54.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Sempra Energy pays out 62.3% 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 Sempra Energy has increased its dividend for 22 consecutive years. American Electric Power is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Do insiders and institutionals hold more shares of AEP or SRE?

75.2% of American Electric Power shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 89.7% of Sempra Energy shares are held by institutional investors. 0.1% of American Electric Power shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.3% of Sempra Energy shares are held 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.

Is AEP or SRE more profitable?

Sempra Energy has a net margin of 20.28% compared to American Electric Power's net margin of 17.68%. American Electric Power's return on equity of 11.55% beat Sempra Energy's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
American Electric Power	17.68%	11.55%	3.11%
Sempra Energy	20.28%	8.42%	3.17%

Summary

Sempra Energy beats American Electric Power on 12 of the 19 factors compared between the two stocks.