WEC Energy Group (WEC) Competitors

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

Which has more volatility & risk, SRE or WEC?

Sempra Energy has a beta of 0.63, meaning that its share price is 37% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, WEC Energy Group has a beta of 0.44, meaning that its share price is 56% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Does the media favor SRE or WEC?

In the previous week, WEC Energy Group had 7 more articles in the media than Sempra Energy. MarketBeat recorded 27 mentions for WEC Energy Group and 20 mentions for Sempra Energy. Sempra Energy's average media sentiment score of 1.49 beat WEC Energy Group's score of 1.15 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
WEC Energy Group	16 Very Positive mention(s)	5 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Is SRE or WEC more profitable?

Sempra Energy has a net margin of 22.15% compared to WEC Energy Group's net margin of 17.95%. WEC Energy Group's return on equity of 12.94% beat Sempra Energy's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Sempra Energy	22.15%	8.55%	3.24%
WEC Energy Group	17.95%	12.94%	3.55%

Do analysts recommend SRE or WEC?

Sempra Energy presently has a consensus price target of $80.83, indicating a potential upside of 8.04%. WEC Energy Group has a consensus price target of $106.33, indicating a potential upside of 2.50%. Given Sempra Energy's stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, research analysts plainly believe Sempra Energy is more favorable than WEC Energy Group.

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
WEC Energy Group	1 Sell rating(s)	5 Hold rating(s)	3 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.22

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

89.7% of Sempra Energy shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 77.2% of WEC Energy Group shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.3% of Sempra Energy shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 0.5% of WEC Energy Group shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Is SRE or WEC a better dividend stock?

Sempra Energy pays an annual dividend of $2.58 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.4%. WEC Energy Group pays an annual dividend of $3.57 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. WEC Energy Group pays out 69.6% 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 WEC Energy Group has increased its dividend for 23 consecutive years. Sempra Energy is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Which has preferable earnings & valuation, SRE or WEC?

Sempra Energy has higher revenue and earnings than WEC Energy Group. Sempra Energy is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than WEC Energy Group, 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	3.70	$2.86B	$4.55	16.44
WEC Energy Group	$8.60B	3.85	$1.53B	$5.13	20.22

Summary

Sempra Energy beats WEC Energy Group on 11 of the 19 factors compared between the two stocks.