Contrasting CenterPoint Energy (NYSE:CNP) and Dominion Energy (NYSE:D)

CenterPoint Energy (NYSE:CNP) and Dominion Energy (NYSE:D) are both large-cap utilities companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, dividends, profitability, analyst recommendations, valuation, earnings and institutional ownership.

Dividends

CenterPoint Energy pays an annual dividend of $0.96 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.2%. Dominion Energy pays an annual dividend of $2.67 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.9%. CenterPoint Energy pays out 54.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Dominion Energy pays out 88.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. CenterPoint Energy has increased its dividend for 5 consecutive years.

Profitability

This table compares CenterPoint Energy and Dominion Energy’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
CenterPoint Energy	11.76%	11.16%	2.68%
Dominion Energy	13.98%	9.62%	2.64%

Insider & Institutional Ownership

91.8% of CenterPoint Energy shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 73.0% of Dominion Energy shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.2% of CenterPoint Energy shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 0.1% of Dominion Energy shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Volatility and Risk

CenterPoint Energy has a beta of 0.47, indicating that its stock price is 53% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Dominion Energy has a beta of 0.64, indicating that its stock price is 36% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current recommendations for CenterPoint Energy and Dominion Energy, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
CenterPoint Energy	0	7	10	0	2.59
Dominion Energy	1	8	4	1	2.36

CenterPoint Energy presently has a consensus price target of $44.29, indicating a potential upside of 3.80%. Dominion Energy has a consensus price target of $69.33, indicating a potential upside of 2.22%. Given CenterPoint Energy’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, research analysts clearly believe CenterPoint Energy is more favorable than Dominion Energy.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares CenterPoint Energy and Dominion Energy”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
CenterPoint Energy	$9.36 billion	3.02	$1.05 billion	$1.75	24.38
Dominion Energy	$16.51 billion	3.61	$3.00 billion	$3.01	22.53

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

Summary

CenterPoint Energy beats Dominion Energy on 10 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.

About CenterPoint Energy

CenterPoint Energy, Inc. operates as a public utility holding company in the United States. The company operates through two segments, Electric and Natural Gas. The Electric segment includes electric transmission and distribution services to electric customers and electric generation assets, as well as optimizes assets in the wholesale power market. The Natural Gas segment engages in the intrastate natural gas sales, and natural gas transportation and distribution for residential, commercial, industrial and institutional customers in Indiana, Louisiana, Minnesota, Mississippi, Ohio, and Texas; permanent pipeline connections through interconnects with various interstate and intrastate pipeline companies; and provides maintenance and repair services of home appliances to customers in Minnesota and home repair protection plans to natural gas customers in Indiana, Mississippi, Ohio, and Texas through a third party. It serves approximately 2,534,730 metered customers; owned 348 substations with transformer capacity of 79,719 megavolt amperes; and owned and operated 217 miles of intrastate pipeline in Louisiana and Texas. The company was founded in 1866 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas.

About Dominion Energy

Dominion Energy, Inc. produces and distributes energy in the United States. It operates through three operating segments: Dominion Energy Virginia, Dominion Energy South Carolina, and Contracted Energy. The Dominion Energy Virginia segment generates, transmits, and distributes regulated electricity to approximately 2.8 million residential, commercial, industrial, and governmental customers in Virginia and North Carolina. The Dominion Energy South Carolina segment generates, transmits, and distributes electricity to approximately 0.8 million customers in the central, southern, and southwestern portions of South Carolina; and distributes natural gas to approximately 0.4 million residential, commercial, and industrial customers in South Carolina. The Contracted Energy segment is involved in the nonregulated long-term contracted renewable electric generation and renewable natural gas facility. As of December 31, 2023, the company's portfolio of assets included approximately 29.5 gigawatt of electric generating capacity; 10,600 miles of electric transmission lines; 79,300 miles of electric distribution lines; and 94,800 miles of gas distribution mains and related service facilities. The company was formerly known as Dominion Resources, Inc. Dominion Energy, Inc. was incorporated in 1983 and is headquartered in Richmond, Virginia.