Entergy (ETR) Competitors

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

Does the media refer more to SO or ETR?

In the previous week, Southern had 3 more articles in the media than Entergy. MarketBeat recorded 18 mentions for Southern and 15 mentions for Entergy. Southern's average media sentiment score of 0.97 beat Entergy's score of 0.33 indicating that Southern is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Southern	14 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	4 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Entergy	3 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	7 Neutral mention(s)	1 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral

Do analysts prefer SO or ETR?

Southern currently has a consensus price target of $90.14, suggesting a potential upside of 7.42%. Entergy has a consensus price target of $77.37, suggesting a potential downside of 5.83%. Given Southern's higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Southern is more favorable than Entergy.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Southern	1 Sell rating(s)	8 Hold rating(s)	6 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.33
Entergy	0 Sell rating(s)	5 Hold rating(s)	8 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.71

Is SO or ETR a better dividend stock?

Southern pays an annual dividend of $2.88 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.4%. Entergy pays an annual dividend of $2.40 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.9%. Southern pays out 67.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Entergy pays out 58.5% 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. Southern has increased its dividend for 24 consecutive years. Southern is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Do institutionals and insiders have more ownership in SO or ETR?

64.1% of Southern shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 88.1% of Entergy shares are held by institutional investors. 0.2% of Southern shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.5% of Entergy shares are held 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.

Does the MarketBeat Community believe in SO or ETR?

Southern received 74 more outperform votes than Entergy when rated by MarketBeat users. Likewise, 49.68% of users gave Southern an outperform vote while only 49.46% of users gave Entergy an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
Southern	Outperform Votes 535 49.68%	Underperform Votes 542 50.32%
Entergy	Outperform Votes 461 49.46%	Underperform Votes 471 50.54%

Which has stronger earnings and valuation, SO or ETR?

Southern has higher revenue and earnings than Entergy. Southern is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Entergy, 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
Southern	$25.25B	3.64	$3.98B	$4.30	19.52
Entergy	$12.15B	2.90	$2.36B	$4.11	20.01

Which has more volatility & risk, SO or ETR?

Southern has a beta of 0.52, indicating that its share price is 48% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Entergy has a beta of 0.71, indicating that its share price is 29% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Is SO or ETR more profitable?

Southern has a net margin of 17.87% compared to Entergy's net margin of 14.83%. Southern's return on equity of 12.78% beat Entergy's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Southern	17.87%	12.78%	3.25%
Entergy	14.83%	9.53%	2.25%

Summary

Southern beats Entergy on 14 of the 22 factors compared between the two stocks.