Consolidated Edison (ED) Competitors

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

Do insiders and institutionals hold more shares of SRE or ED?

89.7% of Sempra Energy shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 66.3% of Consolidated Edison shares are held by institutional investors. 0.3% of Sempra Energy shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.2% of Consolidated Edison shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Which has more risk and volatility, SRE or ED?

Sempra Energy has a beta of 0.63, indicating that its stock price is 37% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Consolidated Edison has a beta of 0.26, indicating that its stock price is 74% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Do analysts recommend SRE or ED?

Sempra Energy currently has a consensus target price of $80.83, suggesting a potential upside of 6.12%. Consolidated Edison has a consensus target price of $105.27, suggesting a potential upside of 4.50%. Given Sempra Energy's stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities research analysts plainly believe Sempra Energy is more favorable than Consolidated Edison.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Sempra Energy	0 Sell rating(s)	6 Hold rating(s)	7 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.54
Consolidated Edison	3 Sell rating(s)	6 Hold rating(s)	3 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.00

Is SRE or ED a better dividend stock?

Sempra Energy pays an annual dividend of $2.58 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.4%. Consolidated Edison pays an annual dividend of $3.40 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.4%. Sempra Energy pays out 56.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Consolidated Edison pays out 62.8% 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. Sempra Energy has increased its dividend for 22 consecutive years and Consolidated Edison has increased its dividend for 52 consecutive years. Sempra Energy is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Does the media favor SRE or ED?

In the previous week, Consolidated Edison had 14 more articles in the media than Sempra Energy. MarketBeat recorded 34 mentions for Consolidated Edison and 20 mentions for Sempra Energy. Sempra Energy's average media sentiment score of 1.45 beat Consolidated Edison's score of 0.91 indicating that Sempra Energy is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Sempra Energy	15 Very Positive mention(s)	3 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Consolidated Edison	20 Very Positive mention(s)	2 Positive mention(s)	5 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Is SRE or ED more profitable?

Sempra Energy has a net margin of 22.15% compared to Consolidated Edison's net margin of 11.98%. Consolidated Edison's return on equity of 8.61% beat Sempra Energy's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Sempra Energy	22.15%	8.55%	3.24%
Consolidated Edison	11.98%	8.61%	2.76%

Which has better earnings and valuation, SRE or ED?

Sempra Energy has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Consolidated Edison. Sempra Energy is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Consolidated Edison, 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 Energy	$13.19B	3.77	$2.86B	$4.55	16.74
Consolidated Edison	$15.26B	2.38	$1.82B	$5.41	18.62

Summary

Sempra Energy beats Consolidated Edison on 13 of the 19 factors compared between the two stocks.