NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) and Evergy (NASDAQ:EVRG) Head to Head Comparison

Evergy (NASDAQ:EVRG) and NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) are both large-cap utilities companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, profitability, earnings, dividends, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations and risk.

Profitability

This table compares Evergy and NextEra Energy’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Evergy	14.63%	9.09%	2.75%
NextEra Energy	29.36%	12.25%	3.78%

Risk & Volatility

Evergy has a beta of 0.54, indicating that its stock price is 46% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, NextEra Energy has a beta of 0.67, indicating that its stock price is 33% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Evergy and NextEra Energy”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Evergy	$5.96 billion	3.35	$855.60 million	$3.77	23.00
NextEra Energy	$27.87 billion	6.73	$6.83 billion	$3.93	22.89

NextEra Energy has higher revenue and earnings than Evergy. NextEra Energy is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Evergy, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Dividends

Evergy pays an annual dividend of $2.78 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.2%. NextEra Energy pays an annual dividend of $2.49 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.8%. Evergy pays out 73.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. NextEra Energy pays out 63.4% 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. Evergy has increased its dividend for 20 consecutive years and NextEra Energy has increased its dividend for 31 consecutive years.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

87.2% of Evergy shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 78.7% of NextEra Energy shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.5% of Evergy shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 0.2% of NextEra Energy shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings and target prices for Evergy and NextEra Energy, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Evergy	0	3	8	0	2.73
NextEra Energy	0	6	15	2	2.83

Evergy currently has a consensus target price of $90.40, indicating a potential upside of 4.24%. NextEra Energy has a consensus target price of $99.23, indicating a potential upside of 10.31%. Given NextEra Energy’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe NextEra Energy is more favorable than Evergy.

Summary

NextEra Energy beats Evergy on 14 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Evergy

Evergy, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the generation, transmission, distribution, and sale of electricity in the United States. The company generates electricity through coal, landfill gas, uranium, and natural gas and oil sources, as well as solar, wind, other renewable sources. It serves residences, commercial firms, industrials, municipalities, and other electric utilities. The company was incorporated in 2017 and is headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri.

About NextEra Energy

NextEra Energy, Inc., through its subsidiaries, generates, transmits, distributes, and sells electric power to retail and wholesale customers in North America. The company generates electricity through wind, solar, nuclear,natural gas, and other clean energy. It also develops, constructs, and operates long-term contracted assets that consists of clean energy solutions, such as renewable generation facilities, battery storage projects, and electric transmission facilities; sells energy commodities; and owns, develops, constructs, manages and operates electric generation facilities in wholesale energy markets. The company had approximately 33,276 megawatts of net generating capacity; approximately 90,000 circuit miles of transmission and distribution lines; and 883 substations. It serves approximately 12 million people through approximately 5.9 million customer accounts in the east and lower west coasts of Florida. The company was formerly known as FPL Group, Inc. and changed its name to NextEra Energy, Inc. in 2010. NextEra Energy, Inc. was founded in 1925 and is headquartered in Juno Beach, Florida.