AltaGas (ALA) Competitors

AltaGas (TSE:ALA) and Pembina Pipeline (TSE:PPL) are both large-cap energy companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, institutional ownership, earnings, analyst recommendations, community ranking, valuation, media sentiment, profitability and risk.

Do insiders & institutionals believe in ALA or PPL?

35.3% of AltaGas shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 63.9% of Pembina Pipeline shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.6% of AltaGas shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.1% of Pembina Pipeline shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Does the media prefer ALA or PPL?

In the previous week, AltaGas had 6 more articles in the media than Pembina Pipeline. MarketBeat recorded 18 mentions for AltaGas and 12 mentions for Pembina Pipeline. AltaGas' average media sentiment score of 0.97 beat Pembina Pipeline's score of 0.95 indicating that AltaGas is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
AltaGas	5 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	3 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Pembina Pipeline	3 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	2 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Does the MarketBeat Community favor ALA or PPL?

Pembina Pipeline received 107 more outperform votes than AltaGas when rated by MarketBeat users. However, 62.98% of users gave AltaGas an outperform vote while only 61.43% of users gave Pembina Pipeline an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
AltaGas	Outperform Votes 570 62.98%	Underperform Votes 335 37.02%
Pembina Pipeline	Outperform Votes 677 61.43%	Underperform Votes 425 38.57%

Which has more risk & volatility, ALA or PPL?

AltaGas has a beta of 1.23, indicating that its stock price is 23% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Pembina Pipeline has a beta of 1.48, indicating that its stock price is 48% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Is ALA or PPL a better dividend stock?

AltaGas pays an annual dividend of C$1.19 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.9%. Pembina Pipeline pays an annual dividend of C$2.76 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.2%. AltaGas pays out 69.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Pembina Pipeline pays out 80.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future.

Do analysts recommend ALA or PPL?

AltaGas currently has a consensus price target of C$39.67, indicating a potential downside of 2.06%. Pembina Pipeline has a consensus price target of C$59.33, indicating a potential upside of 11.51%. Given Pembina Pipeline's higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Pembina Pipeline is more favorable than AltaGas.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
AltaGas	0 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	8 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.89
Pembina Pipeline	0 Sell rating(s)	5 Hold rating(s)	6 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.67

Which has higher earnings & valuation, ALA or PPL?

Pembina Pipeline has lower revenue, but higher earnings than AltaGas. Pembina Pipeline is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than AltaGas, 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
AltaGas	C$12.70B	0.95	C$513.15M	C$1.73	23.47
Pembina Pipeline	C$7.71B	3.99	C$1.98B	C$3.45	15.44

Is ALA or PPL more profitable?

Pembina Pipeline has a net margin of 25.73% compared to AltaGas' net margin of 4.04%. Pembina Pipeline's return on equity of 12.06% beat AltaGas' return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
AltaGas	4.04%	6.36%	2.69%
Pembina Pipeline	25.73%	12.06%	4.31%

Summary

Pembina Pipeline beats AltaGas on 12 of the 21 factors compared between the two stocks.