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Southern Company (The) (SO) vs Xcel Energy Inc. (XEL)

Southern Company (The) and Xcel Energy Inc. are both Utilities Regulated Electric companies. Southern Company (The) is the larger, with a market value of $107.4B against $51.6B — 2.1× the size. Xcel Energy Inc. trades at the lower P/E: 18.6× against 21.2×. Southern Company (The) grew revenue faster over the last twelve months: 7.91% against 4.53%. Xcel Energy Inc. has the higher net margin (18.0% vs 16.0%) and the lower return on invested capital (3.17% vs 4.15%). Both pay a dividend; Southern Company (The) yields more (3.22% vs 2.92%). Across the 22 metrics below, Southern Company (The) leads on 14 and Xcel Energy Inc. on 8.

Valuation

Metric SO XEL Utilities Regulated Electric median
P/E 21.25 18.65 19.45
P/S 3.46 3.40 2.78
P/B 2.41 1.98 1.82
Price to free cash flow n/m n/m 45.34
EV/EBITDA 12.69 13.97 12.40
EV/Sales 5.75 5.96 4.95
Earnings yield 4.71% 5.36% 5.12%
Free cash flow yield (3.19%) (15.08%) (5.93%)

Profitability

Metric SO XEL Utilities Regulated Electric median
Gross margin 0.00% 68.38% 62.00%
Operating margin 24.72% 21.72% 21.72%
Net margin 16.00% 17.95% 13.45%
Free cash flow margin 33.58% (51.21%) (11.71%)
Return on equity 12.02% 11.43% 9.94%
Return on assets 3.15% 3.14% 2.85%
Return on invested capital 4.15% 3.17% 3.95%

Growth

Metric SO XEL Utilities Regulated Electric median
Revenue growth (TTM) 7.91% 4.53% 7.78%
EPS growth (last fiscal year) (1.99%) (0.58%) 6.01%
Revenue growth, 5-year CAGR 7.72% 4.94% 6.72%
Net income growth, 5-year CAGR 6.84% 6.50% 6.50%

Health

Metric SO XEL Utilities Regulated Electric median
Debt to equity 1.63 1.59 1.54
Current ratio 0.84 0.69 0.88
Net debt to EBITDA 5.27 5.93 5.27

Dividend

Metric SO XEL Utilities Regulated Electric median
Dividend yield 3.22% 2.92% 3.16%
Payout ratio 0.68 0.55 0.63

Size

Metric SO XEL Utilities Regulated Electric median
Market cap 107.37b 51.59b 26.54b

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