FirstEnergy (FE) Competitors

Southern (NYSE:SO) and FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE) are both large-cap utilities companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, earnings, profitability, analyst recommendations, risk, media sentiment, institutional ownership, community ranking and valuation.

Does the MarketBeat Community favor SO or FE?

FirstEnergy received 69 more outperform votes than Southern when rated by MarketBeat users. Likewise, 56.29% of users gave FirstEnergy an outperform vote while only 49.68% of users gave Southern an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
Southern	Outperform Votes 535 49.68%	Underperform Votes 542 50.32%
FirstEnergy	Outperform Votes 604 56.29%	Underperform Votes 469 43.71%

Is SO or FE a better dividend stock?

Southern pays an annual dividend of $2.88 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.4%. FirstEnergy pays an annual dividend of $1.70 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.3%. Southern pays out 67.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. FirstEnergy pays out 109.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Southern has raised its dividend for 24 consecutive years.

Does the media refer more to SO or FE?

In the previous week, Southern and Southern both had 15 articles in the media. Southern's average media sentiment score of 1.32 beat FirstEnergy's score of 0.48 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)	1 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
FirstEnergy	8 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	5 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	1 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral

Which has more volatility and risk, SO or FE?

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

Do analysts rate SO or FE?

Southern presently has a consensus price target of $90.14, indicating a potential upside of 7.42%. FirstEnergy has a consensus price target of $46.27, indicating a potential upside of 15.90%. Given FirstEnergy's higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe FirstEnergy is more favorable than Southern.

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
FirstEnergy	1 Sell rating(s)	6 Hold rating(s)	5 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.33

Is SO or FE more profitable?

Southern has a net margin of 17.87% compared to FirstEnergy's net margin of 6.64%. Southern's return on equity of 12.78% beat FirstEnergy's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Southern	17.87%	12.78%	3.25%
FirstEnergy	6.64%	11.38%	2.93%

Do insiders & institutionals believe in SO or FE?

64.1% of Southern shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 89.4% of FirstEnergy shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.2% of Southern shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 0.2% of FirstEnergy shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Which has higher valuation & earnings, SO or FE?

Southern has higher revenue and earnings than FirstEnergy. Southern is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than FirstEnergy, 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
FirstEnergy	$12.87B	1.79	$1.10B	$1.55	25.76

Summary

Southern beats FirstEnergy on 12 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.