CenterPoint Energy (NYSE:CNP – Get Free Report) and WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC – Get Free Report) are both large-cap utilities companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, earnings, institutional ownership, valuation, dividends, risk and profitability.
Analyst Recommendations
This is a breakdown of current recommendations for CenterPoint Energy and WEC Energy Group, as provided by MarketBeat.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| CenterPoint Energy | 0 | 7 | 10 | 0 | 2.59 |
| WEC Energy Group | 1 | 9 | 8 | 0 | 2.39 |
CenterPoint Energy currently has a consensus price target of $44.29, suggesting a potential upside of 4.47%. WEC Energy Group has a consensus price target of $118.00, suggesting a potential upside of 1.56%. Given CenterPoint Energy’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe CenterPoint Energy is more favorable than WEC Energy Group.
Profitability
This table compares CenterPoint Energy and WEC Energy Group’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| CenterPoint Energy | 11.76% | 11.16% | 2.68% |
| WEC Energy Group | 17.54% | 13.49% | 3.73% |
Insider and Institutional Ownership
91.8% of CenterPoint Energy shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 77.2% of WEC Energy Group shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.2% of CenterPoint 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 endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.
Dividends
CenterPoint Energy pays an annual dividend of $0.96 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.3%. WEC Energy Group pays an annual dividend of $3.81 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.3%. CenterPoint Energy pays out 54.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. WEC Energy Group pays out 69.1% 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. CenterPoint Energy has increased its dividend for 5 consecutive years and WEC Energy Group has increased its dividend for 23 consecutive years. WEC Energy Group is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.
Risk and Volatility
CenterPoint Energy has a beta of 0.47, indicating that its stock price is 53% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, WEC Energy Group has a beta of 0.45, indicating that its stock price is 55% less volatile than the S&P 500.
Earnings and Valuation
This table compares CenterPoint Energy and WEC Energy Group”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| CenterPoint Energy | $9.36 billion | 3.00 | $1.05 billion | $1.75 | 24.23 |
| WEC Energy Group | $9.80 billion | 3.86 | $1.56 billion | $5.51 | 21.09 |
WEC Energy Group has higher revenue and earnings than CenterPoint Energy. WEC Energy Group is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than CenterPoint Energy, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Summary
WEC Energy Group beats CenterPoint Energy on 10 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.
About CenterPoint Energy
CenterPoint Energy, Inc. operates as a public utility holding company in the United States. The company operates through two segments, Electric and Natural Gas. The Electric segment includes electric transmission and distribution services to electric customers and electric generation assets, as well as optimizes assets in the wholesale power market. The Natural Gas segment engages in the intrastate natural gas sales, and natural gas transportation and distribution for residential, commercial, industrial and institutional customers in Indiana, Louisiana, Minnesota, Mississippi, Ohio, and Texas; permanent pipeline connections through interconnects with various interstate and intrastate pipeline companies; and provides maintenance and repair services of home appliances to customers in Minnesota and home repair protection plans to natural gas customers in Indiana, Mississippi, Ohio, and Texas through a third party. It serves approximately 2,534,730 metered customers; owned 348 substations with transformer capacity of 79,719 megavolt amperes; and owned and operated 217 miles of intrastate pipeline in Louisiana and Texas. The company was founded in 1866 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas.
About WEC Energy Group
WEC Energy Group, Inc., through its subsidiaries, provides regulated natural gas and electricity, and renewable and nonregulated renewable energy services in the United States. It operates through Wisconsin, Illinois, Other States, Electric Transmission, and Non-Utility Energy Infrastructure segments. The company generates and distributes electricity from coal, natural gas, oil, and nuclear, as well as renewable energy resources, including wind, solar, hydroelectric, and biomass; and distributes and transports natural gas. It also owns, maintains, monitors, and operates electric transmission systems; and generates, distributes, and sells steam. As of December 31, 2023, the company operated approximately 35,500 miles of overhead distribution lines and 36,500 miles of underground distribution cables, as well as 430 electric distribution substations and 523,700 line transformers; approximately 46,400 miles of natural gas distribution mains; 1,700 miles of natural gas transmission mains; 2.4 million natural gas lateral services; 490 natural gas distribution and transmission gate stations; and 69.3 billion cubic feet of working gas capacities in underground natural gas storage fields. The company was formerly known as Wisconsin Energy Corporation and changed its name to WEC Energy Group, Inc. in June 2015. WEC Energy Group, Inc. was founded in 1896 and is headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Receive News & Ratings for CenterPoint Energy Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for CenterPoint Energy and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
