Essential Utilities (WTRG) Competitors

Alliant Energy (NASDAQ:LNT) and Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) are both large-cap utilities companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, profitability, valuation, analyst recommendations, dividends, media sentiment, earnings and risk.

Do insiders and institutionals have more ownership in LNT or WTRG?

79.9% of Alliant Energy shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 74.8% of Essential Utilities shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.3% of Alliant Energy shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.2% of Essential Utilities shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Do analysts prefer LNT or WTRG?

Alliant Energy currently has a consensus target price of $65.50, suggesting a potential upside of 2.96%. Essential Utilities has a consensus target price of $44.50, suggesting a potential upside of 19.30%. Given Essential Utilities' stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Essential Utilities is more favorable than Alliant Energy.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Alliant Energy	1 Sell rating(s)	5 Hold rating(s)	4 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.30
Essential Utilities	0 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	5 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.71

Is LNT or WTRG a better dividend stock?

Alliant Energy pays an annual dividend of $2.03 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.2%. Essential Utilities pays an annual dividend of $1.37 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.7%. Alliant Energy pays out 62.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Essential Utilities pays out 58.8% 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. Alliant Energy has raised its dividend for 22 consecutive years and Essential Utilities has raised its dividend for 32 consecutive years. Essential Utilities is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Is LNT or WTRG more profitable?

Essential Utilities has a net margin of 27.62% compared to Alliant Energy's net margin of 20.07%. Alliant Energy's return on equity of 12.25% beat Essential Utilities' return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Alliant Energy	20.07%	12.25%	3.75%
Essential Utilities	27.62%	10.10%	3.56%

Does the media prefer LNT or WTRG?

In the previous week, Alliant Energy had 3 more articles in the media than Essential Utilities. MarketBeat recorded 16 mentions for Alliant Energy and 13 mentions for Essential Utilities. Alliant Energy's average media sentiment score of 1.65 beat Essential Utilities' score of 1.23 indicating that Alliant Energy is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Alliant Energy	13 Very Positive mention(s)	2 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Very Positive
Essential Utilities	10 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	1 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Which has more volatility & risk, LNT or WTRG?

Alliant Energy has a beta of 0.54, meaning that its share price is 46% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Essential Utilities has a beta of 0.83, meaning that its share price is 17% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Which has preferable valuation and earnings, LNT or WTRG?

Alliant Energy has higher revenue and earnings than Essential Utilities. Essential Utilities is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Alliant 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
Alliant Energy	$3.98B	4.11	$690M	$3.24	19.64
Essential Utilities	$2.09B	5.01	$595.31M	$2.33	16.01

Summary

Alliant Energy beats Essential Utilities on 10 of the 19 factors compared between the two stocks.