NRG Energy (NRG) Competitors

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) and NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG) are both large-cap utilities companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, risk, valuation, earnings, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, profitability and media sentiment.

Which has preferable valuation and earnings, DUK or NRG?

Duke Energy has higher revenue and earnings than NRG Energy. Duke Energy is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than NRG 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
Duke Energy	$30.36B	3.00	$4.52B	$6.03	19.42
NRG Energy	$28.13B	1.02	$1.13B	$6.20	23.71

Does the media refer more to DUK or NRG?

In the previous week, Duke Energy had 25 more articles in the media than NRG Energy. MarketBeat recorded 51 mentions for Duke Energy and 26 mentions for NRG Energy. NRG Energy's average media sentiment score of 1.36 beat Duke Energy's score of 1.22 indicating that NRG Energy is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Duke Energy	33 Very Positive mention(s)	13 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	1 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
NRG Energy	19 Very Positive mention(s)	6 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Do analysts recommend DUK or NRG?

Duke Energy currently has a consensus target price of $127.25, suggesting a potential upside of 8.68%. NRG Energy has a consensus target price of $151.80, suggesting a potential upside of 3.26%. Given Duke Energy's higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Duke Energy is more favorable than NRG Energy.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Duke Energy	0 Sell rating(s)	7 Hold rating(s)	10 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.59
NRG Energy	0 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	7 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.90

Do institutionals and insiders hold more shares of DUK or NRG?

65.3% of Duke Energy shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 97.7% of NRG Energy shares are held by institutional investors. 0.1% of Duke Energy shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.6% of NRG Energy shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Is DUK or NRG more profitable?

Duke Energy has a net margin of 15.40% compared to NRG Energy's net margin of 4.66%. NRG Energy's return on equity of 73.78% beat Duke Energy's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Duke Energy	15.40%	9.88%	2.66%
NRG Energy	4.66%	73.78%	6.59%

Is DUK or NRG a better dividend stock?

Duke Energy pays an annual dividend of $4.18 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.6%. NRG Energy pays an annual dividend of $1.76 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.2%. Duke Energy pays out 69.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. NRG Energy pays out 28.4% 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. Duke Energy has raised its dividend for 20 consecutive years and NRG Energy has raised its dividend for 1 consecutive years. Duke Energy is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Which has more risk & volatility, DUK or NRG?

Duke Energy has a beta of 0.37, indicating that its stock price is 63% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, NRG Energy has a beta of 1.13, indicating that its stock price is 13% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

NRG Energy beats Duke Energy on 11 of the 20 factors compared between the two stocks.