Comparing Alliant Energy (NASDAQ:LNT) & NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE)

NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) and Alliant Energy (NASDAQ:LNT) are both large-cap utilities companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, profitability, risk, valuation, earnings, institutional ownership and dividends.

Risk and Volatility

NextEra Energy has a beta of 0.65, meaning that its share price is 35% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Alliant Energy has a beta of 0.54, meaning that its share price is 46% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

78.7% of NextEra Energy shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 79.9% of Alliant Energy shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.2% of NextEra Energy shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 0.3% of Alliant Energy shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and price targets for NextEra Energy and Alliant Energy, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
NextEra Energy	0	6	17	0	2.74
Alliant Energy	0	5	9	0	2.64

NextEra Energy currently has a consensus target price of $100.19, suggesting a potential upside of 31.85%. Alliant Energy has a consensus target price of $77.00, suggesting a potential upside of 19.68%. Given NextEra Energy’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe NextEra Energy is more favorable than Alliant Energy.

Dividends

NextEra Energy pays an annual dividend of $2.49 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.3%. Alliant Energy pays an annual dividend of $2.14 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.3%. NextEra Energy pays out 56.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Alliant Energy pays out 67.7% 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 and Alliant Energy has raised its dividend for 22 consecutive years.

Earnings and Valuation

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

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
NextEra Energy	$27.41 billion	5.78	$6.83 billion	$4.45	17.08
Alliant Energy	$4.43 billion	3.77	$810.00 million	$3.16	20.36

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

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
NextEra Energy	32.40%	12.28%	3.75%
Alliant Energy	18.45%	11.16%	3.31%

Summary

NextEra Energy beats Alliant Energy on 13 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

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.

About Alliant Energy

Alliant Energy Corporation operates as a utility holding company that provides regulated electricity and natural gas services in the United States. It operates in three segments: Utility Electric Operations, Utility Gas Operations, and Utility Other. The company, through its subsidiary, Interstate Power and Light Company (IPL), primarily generates and distributes electricity, and distributes and transports natural gas to retail customers in Iowa; sells electricity to wholesale customers in Minnesota, Illinois, and Iowa; and generates and distributes steam in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Alliant Energy Corporation, through its other subsidiary, Wisconsin Power and Light Company (WPL), generates and distributes electricity, and distributes and transports natural gas to retail customers in Wisconsin; and sells electricity to wholesale customers in Wisconsin. It serves retail customers in the farming, agriculture, industrial manufacturing, chemical, packaging, and food industries, as well as wholesale customers comprising municipalities and rural electric cooperatives. In addition, the company owns and operates a short-line rail freight service in Iowa; a Mississippi River barge, rail, and truck freight terminal in Illinois; freight brokerage services; wind turbine blade recycling services; and a rail-served warehouse in Iowa. Further, it holds interests in a natural gas-fired electric generating unit near Sheboygan Falls, Wisconsin; and a wind farm located in Oklahoma. The company was formerly known as Interstate Energy Corp. and changed its name to Alliant Energy Corporation in May 1999. Alliant Energy Corporation was incorporated in 1981 and is headquartered in Madison, Wisconsin.