XEL vs NGG vs WEC Stock Comparison

Xcel Energy, National Grid and Wec Energy Prices as of Oct 28, 2026 Peers: Industry group
XEL Xcel Energy Inc
$77.18 +11.2% 1M -3.3% 1Y
Market cap
$48.19B
P/E
21.6x
Revenue (TTM)
$14.62B
Div. yield
3.03%
Regulated Electric Utilities Utilities
NGG National Grid Plc
$82.20 +9.3% 1M +7.2% 1Y
Market cap
$85.47B
P/E
18.7x
Revenue (TTM)
—
Div. yield
3.94%
Regulated Electric Utilities Utilities
7 wins
WEC Wec Energy Group, Inc.
$110.54 +8.9% 1M -4.1% 1Y
Market cap
$36.02B
P/E
21.3x
Revenue (TTM)
$10.14B
Div. yield
3.39%
Regulated Electric Utilities Utilities
5 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

National Grid leads on 7 of the 12 questions below (National Grid 7, Wec Energy 5). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionXELNGGWECLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $48.19B $85.47B $36.02B NGG
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 21.6x 18.7x 21.3x NGG
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 17.9x 14.0x 20.7x NGG
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +4.7% — +8.9% WEC
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 15.3% — 16.7% WEC
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 4.5% — 5.9% WEC
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 6.4x — 5.9x WEC
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 3.03% 3.94% 3.39% NGG
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -3.3% +7.2% -4.1% NGG
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +3.6%/yr +5.1%/yr +4.2%/yr NGG
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 19.2% 22.4% 16.4% WEC
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 16/100 73/100 45/100 NGG

Percentile Scorecard

XELNGGWEC

Each axis is the mean percentile of its metrics against the company's industry group. 100 is the best in the group, 50 the middle.

Scores by Axis

AxisXELNGGWEC
Valuation 5 #64 of 67 55 #31 of 67 27 #49 of 67
Growth 16 #55 of 65 – 31 #45 of 65
Profitability 30 #44 of 62 – 80 #13 of 62
Financial Health 30 #44 of 62 75 #16 of 62 31 #43 of 62
Shareholder Returns 0 #67 of 67 89 #8 of 67 53 #32 of 67
Overall 16 73 45
  • XEL ranked among 67 companies in Regulated Utilities
  • NGG ranked among 67 companies in Regulated Utilities
  • WEC ranked among 67 companies in Regulated Utilities

Price Performance

Price return, split-adjusted, before dividends. Click a name to hide or show it.

Returns

PeriodXELNGGWECSPY
1 month +11.2%+9.3%+8.9% +0.9%
3 months -2.0%+4.2%-0.7% +5.9%
6 months -2.1%-4.4%-3.5% +8.5%
Year to date +4.5%+6.3%+4.8% +13.3%
1 year -3.3%+7.2%-4.1% +12.4%
3 years +32.4%+37.3%+35.3% +88.1%
3 years, per year +9.8%+11.1%+10.6% +23.5%
5 years +19.5%+28.3%+22.7% +68.2%
5 years, per year +3.6%+5.1%+4.2% +11.0%
10 years +89.7%+16.4%+88.9% +263.4%
10 years, per year +6.6%+1.5%+6.6% +13.8%

Risk

MeasureXELNGGWECSPY
Volatility, 1Y 19.2%22.4%16.4% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 19.5%24.2%15.9% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y -0.020.31-0.14 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.170.32-0.25 0.98
Max drawdown, 5Y -37.4%-40.9%-29.4% -25.4%
From 52-week high -8.0%-12.5%-7.0% -0.9%
52-week high $83.91$93.93$118.85 $779.14
52-week low $69.39$73.54$100.79 $631.97

Valuation History

Weekly multiples on trailing twelve-month fundamentals. Negative or extreme readings (a loss year, a collapsed denominator) are left out so the chart stays readable.

MultipleXELNGGWEC
P/E now vs peer median 21.6xmedian 20.8x 18.7xmedian 20.8x 21.3xmedian 20.8x
P/S now vs peer median 3.3xmedian 2.9x 3.6xmedian 2.9x 3.6xmedian 2.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 14.7xmedian 13.1x —median 13.1x 15.3xmedian 13.1x
P/FCF now vs peer median -6.3xmedian 35.3x -29.5xmedian 35.3x -37.1xmedian 35.3x
P/B now vs peer median 2.0xmedian 1.7x 1.6xmedian 1.7x 2.5xmedian 1.7x
PEG now vs peer median 5.06median 2.18 —median 2.18 3.37median 2.18

Financial History

Reported figures by fiscal period, placed on the calendar year (or quarter) each period ended in, so companies with different fiscal years line up.

Trailing twelve monthsXELNGGWEC
Revenue $14.62B – $10.14B
Gross profit – – $6.66B
Operating income $2.79B – $2.32B
Net income $2.23B – $1.69B
Free cash flow -$7.69B – -$970.20M
EPS (diluted) $3.56 – $5.14
Cash & equivalents $2.01B $493.98M $50.00M
Total debt $39.46B $61.59B $22.56B
Shares (diluted) 627.00M 994.20M 328.90M
Enterprise value $43.10B $57.81B $36.25B

All Metrics

58 metrics · best in bold

Bold marks the best reading: the lowest positive value for multiples, leverage and payout, the highest for everything else. The bar under each value is its percentile against that company's own peers. Hover a value for its rank and the peer median.

Valuation

12 metrics
MetricXELNGGWEC
P/E 21.6x 18.7x 21.3x
P/FCF -6.3x -29.5x -37.1x
P/Operating cash flow 10.1x – 10.1x
P/S 3.3x 3.6x 3.6x
P/B 2.0x 1.6x 2.5x
P/Tangible book 2.0x 1.8x 2.5x
EV/EBITDA 14.7x – 15.3x
EV/EBIT 30.7x – 25.3x
EV/Revenue 5.9x – 5.8x
EV/FCF -11.1x – -60.3x
EV/Operating cash flow 17.9x – 16.4x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 5.06 – 3.37

Growth

14 metrics
MetricXELNGGWEC
Revenue growth (1Y) 4.7% – 8.9%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) -1.4% – 3.0%
Gross profit growth (1Y) – – 5.5%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – – 7.3%
Operating income growth (1Y) 11.0% – -0.1%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 4.6% – 7.2%
Net income growth (1Y) 7.7% – 2.0%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 8.8% – 7.8%
EPS growth (1Y) 1.0% – -0.4%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 4.3% – 6.3%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 5.8% – 7.4%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 2.7% – 20.3%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -97.2% – -284.1%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -112.8% – -9.0%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricXELNGGWEC
Gross margin – – 65.7%
EBITDA margin 39.9% – 37.8%
Operating margin 19.1% – 22.8%
Pretax margin 13.7% – 17.9%
Net margin 15.3% – 16.7%
FCF margin -52.6% – -9.6%
Operating cash flow margin 32.6% – 35.3%
Return on equity 9.3% – 11.8%
Return on assets 2.6% – 3.2%
Return on invested capital 4.5% – 5.9%
Return on capital employed 3.6% – 4.9%
Asset turnover 0.2x – 0.2x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 2.1x – 2.1x
Stock comp / revenue 0.3% – –

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricXELNGGWEC
Debt / assets 45.3% 43.2% 42.8%
Debt / equity 1.6x 1.2x 1.6x
Net debt / EBITDA 6.4x – 5.9x
Debt / FCF -5.1x – -23.3x
Liabilities / assets 72.4% 63.7% 73.2%
Equity / assets 27.6% 36.3% 26.8%
Interest coverage 1.7x – 2.5x
Current ratio 0.7x 0.8x 0.5x
Quick ratio 0.4x 0.7x 0.3x
Cash ratio 0.2x 0.3x 0.0x
Altman Z-score 0.85 – 1.08

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricXELNGGWEC
Dividend yield 3.0% 3.9% 3.4%
Net buyback yield -4.6% – -1.1%
Shareholder yield -1.6% 3.9% 2.3%
Payout ratio (earnings) – – 70.8%
Payout ratio (FCF) – – -123.6%
Dividend growth (1Y) – – 9.3%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – – 8.0%

Analyst Estimates

Solid lines are reported fiscal-year results; dashed lines are the consensus for the years ahead. Hover a year for the analysts' high and low, and how each result compared with its estimate.

ConsensusXELNGGWEC
Forward P/E 17.9xFY2026 14.0xFY2026 20.7xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $4.30FY2026 $5.86FY2026 $5.35FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +13.2%FY2026 +11.4%FY2026 +1.5%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +2.1% +8.9% +17.9%
Revenue, next fiscal year $16.60BFY2026 $25.38BFY2026 $9.89BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +13.1%FY2026 +6.4%FY2026 +0.9%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +8.4% +8.6% +3.5%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersXELNGGWEC
Held by institutions 95.4% 6.2% 85.3%
Institutions holding 1,285 617 1,394
Change in shares held, QoQ +7.3% +6.6% +1.1%
Institutions buying 664 352 704
Institutions selling 386 159 401
Buyers to sellers 1.72 2.21 1.76

Return Correlation

Daily returns, last 12 months

1.00 means two stocks move in lockstep, 0 that they move independently. Pairs below about 0.5 diversify each other.

XELNGGWEC
XEL 1.00 0.52 0.79
NGG 0.52 1.00 0.53
WEC 0.79 0.53 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, XEL, NGG and WEC?

National Grid (NGG) is the largest by market capitalisation: Xcel Energy (XEL) $48.19B, National Grid (NGG) $85.47B, Wec Energy (WEC) $36.02B.

Which stock is cheaper, XEL, NGG and WEC?

National Grid (NGG) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Xcel Energy (XEL) 21.6x, National Grid (NGG) 18.7x, Wec Energy (WEC) 21.3x). On next year's consensus earnings, National Grid (NGG) is cheapest (Xcel Energy (XEL) 17.9x, National Grid (NGG) 14.0x, Wec Energy (WEC) 20.7x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Wec Energy (WEC) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Xcel Energy (XEL) +4.7%, Wec Energy (WEC) +8.9%.

Which company is more profitable?

Wec Energy (WEC) has the highest net margin (Xcel Energy (XEL) 15.3%, Wec Energy (WEC) 16.7%). On return on invested capital, Wec Energy (WEC) leads (Xcel Energy (XEL) 4.5%, Wec Energy (WEC) 5.9%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year National Grid (NGG) returned the most: Xcel Energy (XEL) -3.3%, National Grid (NGG) +7.2%, Wec Energy (WEC) -4.1%. Over five years, National Grid (NGG) compounded fastest (Xcel Energy (XEL) +3.6%/yr, National Grid (NGG) +5.1%/yr, Wec Energy (WEC) +4.2%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

National Grid (NGG) has the highest dividend yield: Xcel Energy (XEL) 3.03%, National Grid (NGG) 3.94%, Wec Energy (WEC) 3.39%.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Wec Energy (WEC) has been the steadiest (Xcel Energy (XEL) 19.2%, National Grid (NGG) 22.4%, Wec Energy (WEC) 16.4%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, XEL, NGG and WEC?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, National Grid (NGG) leads on 7. Business Quant does not give investment advice; use the comparison as a starting point for your own research.

Data from SEC filings, exchange prices and consensus estimates, via Business Quant. Percentile scores compare each company with its own peer group, so two companies' scores are each relative to different peers unless you rank against the whole market. Price returns exclude dividends. Nothing on this page is investment advice.