MGE Energy (MGEE) Competitors

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

Do institutionals & insiders hold more shares of LNT or MGEE?

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

Is LNT or MGEE a better dividend stock?

Alliant Energy pays an annual dividend of $2.03 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.2%. MGE Energy pays an annual dividend of $1.90 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.3%. Alliant Energy pays out 62.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. MGE Energy pays out 52.8% 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. Alliant Energy has increased its dividend for 22 consecutive years and MGE Energy has increased its dividend for 49 consecutive years.

Which has more risk & volatility, LNT or MGEE?

Alliant Energy has a beta of 0.54, indicating that its share price is 46% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, MGE Energy has a beta of 0.8, indicating that its share price is 20% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Which has higher earnings and valuation, LNT or MGEE?

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
Alliant Energy	$3.98B	4.13	$690M	$3.24	19.75
MGE Energy	$676.94M	4.51	$120.57M	$3.60	23.19

Does the media favor LNT or MGEE?

In the previous week, Alliant Energy had 7 more articles in the media than MGE Energy. MarketBeat recorded 14 mentions for Alliant Energy and 7 mentions for MGE Energy. Alliant Energy's average media sentiment score of 1.59 beat MGE Energy's score of 1.54 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	11 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	1 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Very Positive
MGE Energy	5 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Very Positive

Is LNT or MGEE more profitable?

Alliant Energy has a net margin of 20.07% compared to MGE Energy's net margin of 18.24%. Alliant Energy's return on equity of 12.25% beat MGE Energy's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Alliant Energy	20.07%	12.25%	3.75%
MGE Energy	18.24%	10.58%	4.65%

Do analysts rate LNT or MGEE?

Alliant Energy currently has a consensus target price of $65.50, indicating a potential upside of 2.36%. MGE Energy has a consensus target price of $74.00, indicating a potential downside of 11.36%. 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
Alliant Energy	1 Sell rating(s)	5 Hold rating(s)	4 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.30
MGE Energy	2 Sell rating(s)	0 Hold rating(s)	0 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	1.00

Summary

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