Head to Head Analysis: Evergy (NASDAQ:EVRG) versus PPL (NYSE:PPL)

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

Dividends

PPL pays an annual dividend of $1.14 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.2%. Evergy pays an annual dividend of $2.78 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.2%. PPL pays out 69.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Evergy pays out 73.7% 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. PPL has raised its dividend for 3 consecutive years and Evergy has raised its dividend for 20 consecutive years. Evergy is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current recommendations and price targets for PPL and Evergy, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
PPL	0	3	10	0	2.77
Evergy	0	3	8	0	2.73

PPL presently has a consensus target price of $41.50, indicating a potential upside of 16.08%. Evergy has a consensus target price of $90.10, indicating a potential upside of 5.12%. Given PPL’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe PPL is more favorable than Evergy.

Volatility and Risk

PPL has a beta of 0.57, meaning that its share price is 43% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Evergy has a beta of 0.54, meaning that its share price is 46% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
PPL	13.09%	9.41%	3.10%
Evergy	14.63%	9.09%	2.75%

Insider and Institutional Ownership

77.0% of PPL shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 87.2% of Evergy shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.3% of PPL shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.5% of Evergy shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares PPL and Evergy”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
PPL	$9.31 billion	2.89	$1.18 billion	$1.64	21.80
Evergy	$6.03 billion	3.28	$855.60 million	$3.77	22.73

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

Summary

PPL beats Evergy on 9 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About PPL

PPL Corporation, an energy company, focuses on providing electricity and natural gas to approximately 3.6 million customers in the United States. It operates through three segments: Kentucky Regulated, Pennsylvania Regulated, and Rhode Island Regulated. The company delivers electricity to customers in Pennsylvania, Kentucky, Virginia, and Rhode Island; delivers natural gas to customers in Kentucky and Rhode Island; and generates electricity from power plants in Kentucky. PPL Corporation was founded in 1920 and is headquartered in Allentown, Pennsylvania.

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.