Head to Head Survey: Kenon (NYSE:KEN) vs. Alliant Energy (NASDAQ:LNT)

Kenon (NYSE:KEN) and Alliant Energy (NASDAQ:LNT) are both utilities companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, profitability, risk, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, earnings and dividends.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Kenon and Alliant Energy”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Kenon	$871.63 million	5.19	$66.27 million	$0.77	112.67
Alliant Energy	$4.36 billion	4.20	$810.00 million	$3.19	22.24

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

Volatility and Risk

Kenon has a beta of 1.06, indicating that its stock price is 6% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Alliant Energy has a beta of 0.56, indicating that its stock price is 44% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings and price targets for Kenon and Alliant Energy, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Kenon	0	1	0	0	2.00
Alliant Energy	0	4	9	0	2.69

Alliant Energy has a consensus price target of $76.60, indicating a potential upside of 7.95%. Given Alliant Energy’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Alliant Energy is more favorable than Kenon.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

13.4% of Kenon shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 79.9% of Alliant Energy shares are held by institutional investors. 0.1% of Kenon shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.3% of Alliant Energy shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares Kenon and Alliant Energy’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Kenon	7.98%	3.59%	2.17%
Alliant Energy	18.58%	11.37%	3.38%

Dividends

Kenon pays an annual dividend of $3.85 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.4%. Alliant Energy pays an annual dividend of $2.14 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.0%. Kenon pays out 500.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Alliant Energy pays out 67.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Kenon has increased its dividend for 2 consecutive years and Alliant Energy has increased its dividend for 22 consecutive years.

Summary

Alliant Energy beats Kenon on 13 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Kenon

Kenon Holdings Ltd., through its subsidiaries, operates as an owner, developer, and operator of power generation facilities in Israel, the United States, and internationally. It operates through OPC Power Plants, CPV Group, and ZIM segments. The company engages in the generation and supply of electricity and energy; development, construction, and management of solar and wind energy, and conventional natural gas-fired power plants; and provision of container liner shipping services. It also operates a fleet of 150 vessels. Kenon Holdings Ltd. was incorporated in 2014 and is based in Singapore. Kenon Holdings Ltd. operates as a subsidiary of Ansonia Holdings Singapore B.V.

About Alliant Energy

Alliant Energy Corporation operates as a utility holding company that provides regulated electricity and natural gas services in the United States. It operates in three segments: Utility Electric Operations, Utility Gas Operations, and Utility Other. The company, through its subsidiary, Interstate Power and Light Company (IPL), primarily generates and distributes electricity, and distributes and transports natural gas to retail customers in Iowa; sells electricity to wholesale customers in Minnesota, Illinois, and Iowa; and generates and distributes steam in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Alliant Energy Corporation, through its other subsidiary, Wisconsin Power and Light Company (WPL), generates and distributes electricity, and distributes and transports natural gas to retail customers in Wisconsin; and sells electricity to wholesale customers in Wisconsin. It serves retail customers in the farming, agriculture, industrial manufacturing, chemical, packaging, and food industries, as well as wholesale customers comprising municipalities and rural electric cooperatives. In addition, the company owns and operates a short-line rail freight service in Iowa; a Mississippi River barge, rail, and truck freight terminal in Illinois; freight brokerage services; wind turbine blade recycling services; and a rail-served warehouse in Iowa. Further, it holds interests in a natural gas-fired electric generating unit near Sheboygan Falls, Wisconsin; and a wind farm located in Oklahoma. The company was formerly known as Interstate Energy Corp. and changed its name to Alliant Energy Corporation in May 1999. Alliant Energy Corporation was incorporated in 1981 and is headquartered in Madison, Wisconsin.