Xcel Energy (XEL) Competitors

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) and Constellation Energy (NASDAQ:CEG) are both large-cap utilities companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their media sentiment, community ranking, risk, analyst recommendations, valuation, institutional ownership, profitability, earnings and dividends.

Is XEL or CEG a better dividend stock?

Xcel Energy pays an annual dividend of $2.19 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.2%. Constellation Energy pays an annual dividend of $1.41 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.6%. Xcel Energy pays out 65.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Constellation Energy pays out 15.5% 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. Xcel Energy has raised its dividend for 21 consecutive years. Xcel Energy is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Does the media favor XEL or CEG?

In the previous week, Xcel Energy had 8 more articles in the media than Constellation Energy. MarketBeat recorded 17 mentions for Xcel Energy and 9 mentions for Constellation Energy. Xcel Energy's average media sentiment score of 1.21 beat Constellation Energy's score of 0.56 indicating that Xcel Energy is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Xcel Energy	12 Very Positive mention(s)	2 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	1 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Constellation Energy	3 Very Positive mention(s)	3 Positive mention(s)	2 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Do analysts rate XEL or CEG?

Xcel Energy currently has a consensus target price of $69.17, suggesting a potential upside of 1.60%. Constellation Energy has a consensus target price of $281.43, suggesting a potential upside of 20.15%. Given Constellation Energy's higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Constellation Energy is more favorable than Xcel Energy.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Xcel Energy	0 Sell rating(s)	4 Hold rating(s)	8 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.67
Constellation Energy	0 Sell rating(s)	5 Hold rating(s)	10 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.67

Does the MarketBeat Community believe in XEL or CEG?

Constellation Energy received 119 more outperform votes than Xcel Energy when rated by MarketBeat users. Likewise, 63.04% of users gave Constellation Energy an outperform vote while only 31.62% of users gave Xcel Energy an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
Xcel Energy	Outperform Votes 43 31.62%	Underperform Votes 93 68.38%
Constellation Energy	Outperform Votes 162 63.04%	Underperform Votes 95 36.96%

Do insiders & institutionals believe in XEL or CEG?

78.4% of Xcel Energy shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 82.2% of Constellation Energy shares are held by institutional investors. 0.1% of Xcel Energy shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.2% of Constellation Energy shares are held by company 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.

Which has preferable earnings and valuation, XEL or CEG?

Xcel Energy has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Constellation Energy. Xcel Energy is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Constellation 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
Xcel Energy	$14.21B	2.75	$1.77B	$3.37	20.20
Constellation Energy	$23.98B	3.05	$1.62B	$9.07	25.83

Which has more risk & volatility, XEL or CEG?

Xcel Energy has a beta of 0.41, indicating that its share price is 59% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Constellation Energy has a beta of 0.67, indicating that its share price is 33% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Is XEL or CEG more profitable?

Xcel Energy has a net margin of 13.67% compared to Constellation Energy's net margin of 11.93%. Constellation Energy's return on equity of 16.26% beat Xcel Energy's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Xcel Energy	13.67%	10.76%	2.93%
Constellation Energy	11.93%	16.26%	3.76%

Summary

Constellation Energy beats Xcel Energy on 14 of the 20 factors compared between the two stocks.