Ameren (AEE) Competitors

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) and Ameren (NYSE:AEE) are both large-cap utilities companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, risk, community ranking, dividends, analyst recommendations, earnings, media sentiment, institutional ownership and profitability.

Which has better earnings & valuation, SRE or AEE?

Sempra has higher revenue and earnings than Ameren. Sempra is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Ameren, 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
Sempra	$16.72B	3.26	$3.08B	$4.54	18.94
Ameren	$7.62B	3.44	$1.18B	$4.42	21.96

Is SRE or AEE a better dividend stock?

Sempra pays an annual dividend of $2.48 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.9%. Ameren pays an annual dividend of $2.68 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.8%. Sempra pays out 54.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Ameren pays out 60.6% 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. Sempra has increased its dividend for 21 consecutive years and Ameren has increased its dividend for 12 consecutive years. Sempra is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Does the media refer more to SRE or AEE?

In the previous week, Ameren had 12 more articles in the media than Sempra. MarketBeat recorded 35 mentions for Ameren and 23 mentions for Sempra. Sempra's average media sentiment score of 1.44 beat Ameren's score of 0.66 indicating that Sempra is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Sempra	18 Very Positive mention(s)	3 Positive mention(s)	2 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Ameren	18 Very Positive mention(s)	4 Positive mention(s)	10 Neutral mention(s)	1 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Which has more risk and volatility, SRE or AEE?

Sempra has a beta of 0.78, meaning that its stock price is 22% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Ameren has a beta of 0.49, meaning that its stock price is 51% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Does the MarketBeat Community believe in SRE or AEE?

Sempra received 126 more outperform votes than Ameren when rated by MarketBeat users. Likewise, 60.55% of users gave Sempra an outperform vote while only 51.51% of users gave Ameren an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
Sempra	Outperform Votes 485 60.55%	Underperform Votes 316 39.45%
Ameren	Outperform Votes 359 51.51%	Underperform Votes 338 48.49%

Do analysts prefer SRE or AEE?

Sempra currently has a consensus price target of $91.20, indicating a potential upside of 6.04%. Ameren has a consensus price target of $92.70, indicating a potential downside of 4.50%. Given Sempra's stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities research analysts clearly believe Sempra is more favorable than Ameren.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Sempra	0 Sell rating(s)	0 Hold rating(s)	10 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	3.00
Ameren	1 Sell rating(s)	3 Hold rating(s)	6 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.64

Do insiders & institutionals believe in SRE or AEE?

89.7% of Sempra shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 79.1% of Ameren shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.2% of Sempra shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.4% of Ameren shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Is SRE or AEE more profitable?

Sempra has a net margin of 22.63% compared to Ameren's net margin of 15.51%. Ameren's return on equity of 10.34% beat Sempra's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Sempra	22.63%	8.06%	3.04%
Ameren	15.51%	10.34%	2.86%

Summary

Sempra beats Ameren on 16 of the 22 factors compared between the two stocks.