Reviewing NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) & Korea Electric Power (NYSE:KEP)

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

Profitability

This table compares Korea Electric Power and NextEra Energy’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Korea Electric Power	8.15%	15.70%	3.06%
NextEra Energy	40.37%	12.27%	3.69%

Risk and Volatility

Korea Electric Power has a beta of 1.02, suggesting that its share price is 2% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, NextEra Energy has a beta of 0.6, suggesting that its share price is 40% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings and price targets for Korea Electric Power and NextEra Energy, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Korea Electric Power	2	3	0	0	1.60
NextEra Energy	0	5	16	1	2.82

NextEra Energy has a consensus target price of $97.80, suggesting a potential upside of 10.80%. Given NextEra Energy’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe NextEra Energy is more favorable than Korea Electric Power.

Dividends

Korea Electric Power pays an annual dividend of $0.52 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.7%. NextEra Energy pays an annual dividend of $2.49 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.8%. Korea Electric Power pays out 12.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. NextEra Energy pays out 44.9% 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. NextEra Energy has raised its dividend for 31 consecutive years. Korea Electric Power is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

78.7% of NextEra Energy shares are held by institutional investors. 1.0% of Korea Electric Power shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.2% of NextEra 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.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Korea Electric Power and NextEra Energy”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Korea Electric Power	$68.57 billion	0.21	$5.98 billion	$4.29	2.58
NextEra Energy	$27.41 billion	6.75	$6.83 billion	$5.55	15.90

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

Summary

NextEra Energy beats Korea Electric Power on 12 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Korea Electric Power

Korea Electric Power Corporation, an integrated electric utility company, engages in the generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity in South Korea and internationally. The company operates through Transmission and Distribution, Nuclear Power Generation, Thermal Power Generation, and Others segments. It generates power from nuclear, coal, oil, liquefied natural gas, internal combustion, combined-cycle, integrated gasification combined cycle, hydro, wind, solar, fuel cell, biogas, and other sources. As of December 31, 2022, the company had a total of 770 generation units, including nuclear, thermal, hydroelectric, and internal combustion units with an installed generation capacity of 82,723 megawatts; transmission system consisted of 35,451 circuit kilometers of lines of 765 kilovolts and others, including high-voltage direct current lines, as well as 895 substations with an installed transformer capacity of 347,426 megavolt-amperes; and distribution system included 139,265 megavolt-amperes of transformer capacity and 10,084,051 units of support with a total line length of 535,241 circuit kilometers. The company provides electricity to residential, commercial, educational, industrial, agricultural, street lighting, and overnight power usage. It also provides engineering and construction services for utility plant and others; utility plant maintenance, electric power information technology, resources development, facility maintenance, electric meter reading, and security services; and engages in nuclear fuel, fly ashes recycling, utility plants construction and operation, and wood pellet utilization businesses. Korea Electric Power Corporation was founded in 1898 and is headquartered in Naju-si, South Korea.

About NextEra Energy

NextEra Energy, Inc., through its subsidiaries, generates, transmits, distributes, and sells electric power to retail and wholesale customers in North America. The company generates electricity through wind, solar, nuclear,natural gas, and other clean energy. It also develops, constructs, and operates long-term contracted assets that consists of clean energy solutions, such as renewable generation facilities, battery storage projects, and electric transmission facilities; sells energy commodities; and owns, develops, constructs, manages and operates electric generation facilities in wholesale energy markets. The company had approximately 33,276 megawatts of net generating capacity; approximately 90,000 circuit miles of transmission and distribution lines; and 883 substations. It serves approximately 12 million people through approximately 5.9 million customer accounts in the east and lower west coasts of Florida. The company was formerly known as FPL Group, Inc. and changed its name to NextEra Energy, Inc. in 2010. NextEra Energy, Inc. was founded in 1925 and is headquartered in Juno Beach, Florida.