MGE Energy (MGEE) Competitors

MGE Energy (NASDAQ:MGEE) and Alliant Energy (NASDAQ:LNT) are both utilities companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, media sentiment, earnings, profitability, valuation, dividends and risk.

Do insiders and institutionals believe in MGEE or LNT?

52.6% of MGE Energy shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 79.9% of Alliant Energy shares are held by institutional investors. 0.2% of MGE Energy shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.3% of Alliant Energy shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Which has stronger valuation and earnings, MGEE or LNT?

Alliant Energy has higher revenue and earnings than MGE Energy. Alliant Energy is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than MGE 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
MGE Energy	$676.94M	4.60	$120.57M	$3.54	24.09
Alliant Energy	$3.98B	4.06	$690M	$2.90	21.71

Does the media refer more to MGEE or LNT?

In the previous week, Alliant Energy had 6 more articles in the media than MGE Energy. MarketBeat recorded 12 mentions for Alliant Energy and 6 mentions for MGE Energy. Alliant Energy's average media sentiment score of 1.38 beat MGE Energy's score of 1.29 indicating that Alliant Energy is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
MGE Energy	3 Very Positive mention(s)	2 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Alliant Energy	8 Very Positive mention(s)	2 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Which has more volatility and risk, MGEE or LNT?

MGE Energy has a beta of 0.76, suggesting that its share price is 24% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Alliant Energy has a beta of 0.56, suggesting that its share price is 44% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Is MGEE or LNT a better dividend stock?

MGE Energy pays an annual dividend of $1.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.1%. Alliant Energy pays an annual dividend of $2.03 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.2%. MGE Energy pays out 50.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Alliant Energy pays out 70.0% 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. MGE Energy has raised its dividend for 49 consecutive years and Alliant Energy has raised its dividend for 22 consecutive years.

Is MGEE or LNT more profitable?

Alliant Energy has a net margin of 18.26% compared to MGE Energy's net margin of 18.22%. Alliant Energy's return on equity of 12.01% beat MGE Energy's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
MGE Energy	18.22%	10.58%	4.61%
Alliant Energy	18.26%	12.01%	3.71%

Do analysts rate MGEE or LNT?

MGE Energy presently has a consensus target price of $74.00, indicating a potential downside of 13.22%. Alliant Energy has a consensus target price of $64.23, indicating a potential upside of 1.99%. Given Alliant Energy's stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Alliant Energy is more favorable than MGE Energy.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
MGE Energy	2 Sell rating(s)	0 Hold rating(s)	0 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	1.00
Alliant Energy	1 Sell rating(s)	5 Hold rating(s)	5 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.36

Summary

Alliant Energy beats MGE Energy on 12 of the 19 factors compared between the two stocks.