Alliant Energy (LNT) Competitors

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

Do insiders and institutionals hold more shares of LNT or ET?

79.9% of Alliant Energy shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 38.2% of Energy Transfer shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.3% of Alliant Energy shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 3.3% of Energy Transfer shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Which has preferable earnings and valuation, LNT or ET?

Energy Transfer has higher revenue and earnings than Alliant Energy. Energy Transfer 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	3.98	$690M	$2.90	21.27
Energy Transfer	$82.67B	0.74	$4.45B	$1.32	13.59

Does the media favor LNT or ET?

In the previous week, Energy Transfer had 17 more articles in the media than Alliant Energy. MarketBeat recorded 26 mentions for Energy Transfer and 9 mentions for Alliant Energy. Alliant Energy's average media sentiment score of 1.48 beat Energy Transfer's score of 1.06 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	8 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Energy Transfer	19 Very Positive mention(s)	5 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	1 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Is LNT or ET a better dividend stock?

Alliant Energy pays an annual dividend of $2.03 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.3%. Energy Transfer pays an annual dividend of $1.31 per share and has a dividend yield of 7.3%. Alliant Energy pays out 70.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Energy Transfer pays out 99.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Alliant Energy has increased its dividend for 22 consecutive years and Energy Transfer has increased its dividend for 4 consecutive years.

Which has more volatility & risk, LNT or ET?

Alliant Energy has a beta of 0.56, suggesting that its stock price is 44% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Energy Transfer has a beta of 0.79, suggesting that its stock price is 21% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Do analysts prefer LNT or ET?

Alliant Energy presently has a consensus target price of $63.95, indicating a potential upside of 3.68%. Energy Transfer has a consensus target price of $22.64, indicating a potential upside of 26.18%. Given Energy Transfer's stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Energy Transfer 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
Energy Transfer	0 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	10 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.91

Is LNT or ET more profitable?

Alliant Energy has a net margin of 18.26% compared to Energy Transfer's net margin of 5.88%. Alliant Energy's return on equity of 12.01% beat Energy Transfer's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Alliant Energy	18.26%	12.01%	3.71%
Energy Transfer	5.88%	11.47%	3.88%

Summary

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