SSE (SSE) Competitors

SSE (LON:SSE) and Severn Trent (LON:SVT) are both utilities companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, community ranking, dividends, valuation, earnings, analyst recommendations, media sentiment, risk and institutional ownership.

Does the MarketBeat Community favor SSE or SVT?

SSE received 171 more outperform votes than Severn Trent when rated by MarketBeat users. Likewise, 56.84% of users gave SSE an outperform vote while only 52.37% of users gave Severn Trent an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
SSE	Outperform Votes 536 56.84%	Underperform Votes 407 43.16%
Severn Trent	Outperform Votes 365 52.37%	Underperform Votes 332 47.63%

Does the media refer more to SSE or SVT?

In the previous week, SSE had 14 more articles in the media than Severn Trent. MarketBeat recorded 14 mentions for SSE and 0 mentions for Severn Trent. SSE's average media sentiment score of 0.32 beat Severn Trent's score of 0.00 indicating that SSE is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Overall Sentiment
SSE	Neutral
Severn Trent	Neutral

Do institutionals and insiders believe in SSE or SVT?

70.2% of SSE shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 78.3% of Severn Trent shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.1% of SSE shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.3% of Severn Trent shares are owned by company 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.

Which has more volatility and risk, SSE or SVT?

SSE has a beta of 0.57, suggesting that its share price is 43% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Severn Trent has a beta of 0.39, suggesting that its share price is 61% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Is SSE or SVT more profitable?

SSE has a net margin of 4.96% compared to Severn Trent's net margin of 4.63%. Severn Trent's return on equity of 10.14% beat SSE's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
SSE	4.96%	7.07%	2.64%
Severn Trent	4.63%	10.14%	2.47%

Which has higher earnings and valuation, SSE or SVT?

SSE has higher revenue and earnings than Severn Trent. SSE is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Severn Trent, 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
SSE	£11.65B	1.56	£578.40M	£0.53	3,144.34
Severn Trent	£2.27B	3.25	£105M	£0.42	5,873.81

Is SSE or SVT a better dividend stock?

SSE pays an annual dividend of GBX 88 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.3%. Severn Trent pays an annual dividend of GBX 111 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.5%. SSE pays out 16,603.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Severn Trent pays out 26,428.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. SSE is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Do analysts rate SSE or SVT?

SSE currently has a consensus price target of GBX 1,959, suggesting a potential upside of 17.55%. Severn Trent has a consensus price target of GBX 2,940, suggesting a potential upside of 19.17%. Given Severn Trent's higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Severn Trent is more favorable than SSE.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
SSE	0 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	4 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.80
Severn Trent	1 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	3 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.40

Summary

SSE beats Severn Trent on 14 of the 20 factors compared between the two stocks.