Unitil (UTL) Competitors

Unitil (NYSE:UTL) and MGE Energy (NASDAQ:MGEE) are both utilities companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, valuation, analyst recommendations, media sentiment, risk, community ranking, dividends, profitability and institutional ownership.

Does the media favor UTL or MGEE?

In the previous week, MGE Energy had 3 more articles in the media than Unitil. MarketBeat recorded 10 mentions for MGE Energy and 7 mentions for Unitil. Unitil's average media sentiment score of 1.54 beat MGE Energy's score of 1.49 indicating that Unitil is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Unitil	7 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Very Positive
MGE Energy	6 Very Positive mention(s)	3 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Is UTL or MGEE a better dividend stock?

Unitil pays an annual dividend of $1.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.1%. MGE Energy pays an annual dividend of $1.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.0%. Unitil pays out 61.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. MGE Energy pays out 54.1% 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. Unitil has increased its dividend for 12 consecutive years and MGE Energy has increased its dividend for 49 consecutive years.

Does the MarketBeat Community believe in UTL or MGEE?

Unitil received 122 more outperform votes than MGE Energy when rated by MarketBeat users. Likewise, 61.68% of users gave Unitil an outperform vote while only 54.55% of users gave MGE Energy an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
Unitil	Outperform Votes 338 61.68%	Underperform Votes 210 38.32%
MGE Energy	Outperform Votes 216 54.55%	Underperform Votes 180 45.45%

Which has more risk and volatility, UTL or MGEE?

Unitil has a beta of 0.58, indicating that its stock price is 42% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, MGE Energy has a beta of 0.71, indicating that its stock price is 29% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Which has preferable valuation and earnings, UTL or MGEE?

MGE Energy has higher revenue and earnings than Unitil. Unitil is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than MGE 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
Unitil	$494.80M	1.90	$47.10M	$2.93	19.78
MGE Energy	$676.94M	4.91	$117.70M	$3.33	27.35

Do analysts recommend UTL or MGEE?

Unitil currently has a consensus price target of $55.00, suggesting a potential downside of 5.09%. MGE Energy has a consensus price target of $80.00, suggesting a potential downside of 12.15%. Given Unitil's stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, research analysts clearly believe Unitil is more favorable than MGE Energy.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Unitil	0 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	0 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.00
MGE Energy	2 Sell rating(s)	0 Hold rating(s)	0 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	1.00

Is UTL or MGEE more profitable?

MGE Energy has a net margin of 17.70% compared to Unitil's net margin of 9.52%. MGE Energy's return on equity of 10.18% beat Unitil's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Unitil	9.52%	9.36%	2.75%
MGE Energy	17.70%	10.18%	4.38%

Do insiders & institutionals have more ownership in UTL or MGEE?

76.8% of Unitil shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 52.6% of MGE Energy shares are held by institutional investors. 2.0% of Unitil shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 0.2% of MGE Energy shares are held 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.

Summary

MGE Energy beats Unitil on 12 of the 20 factors compared between the two stocks.