XEL vs WEC Comparison: AI Score, Valuation, Performance and Upside
Compare Xcel Energy's renewable-transition capex plan against WEC Energy Group's steadier Wisconsin-focused regulated growth.
Use this Xcel Energy vs WEC Energy Group comparison to evaluate the key differences across valuation, growth, profitability, and risk before making an investment decision.
XEL holds the edge across 4 of 5 key metrics in this comparison. XEL leads on both 1-year return (-3.27%) and forward P/E quality (16.83x vs 17.71x for WEC), a relatively favorable combination of momentum and valuation. On fundamentals, WEC is growing revenue faster (2.60%), while XEL maintains the higher operating margin (22.70%) — a classic growth-versus-profitability split. Analyst consensus implies meaningfully more upside for XEL (+20.03%) than for WEC (+14.50%).
Human Wall Street analysts' price targets, typically implying a ~12-month view — a separate signal from this site's own AI Prediction Signal further down the page, which is a 5-/30-day machine-learning forecast based on price history alone.
| Metric | XEL | WEC |
|---|---|---|
| AI scorei | 41.5 | 41.7 |
| AI ranki | #1010 | #986 |
| Latest closei | $78.05 | $111.09 |
| 1M returni | +10.46% | +9.81% |
| 3M returni | -4.43% | -4.04% |
| 6M returni | -1.39% | -3.06% |
| 1Y returni | -3.27% | -5.37% |
How much would $10,000 be worth today if invested at the start of each period, with all dividends reinvested?
| Period | XEL | WEC |
|---|---|---|
| 1Y ago | $9.71K (-2.9%) started 2025-10-23 | $9.58K (-4.2%) started 2025-10-23 |
| 5Y ago | $15.25K (+52.5%) started 2021-10-25 | $16.03K (+60.3%) started 2021-10-25 |
| 10Y ago | $33.85K (+238.5%) started 2016-10-24 | $35.25K (+252.5%) started 2016-10-24 |
Hypothetical — past performance does not guarantee future results.
| Metric | XEL | WEC |
|---|---|---|
| Market capi | $47.75B | $34.61B |
| Trailing P/Ei | 20.95 | 20.63 |
| Forward P/Ei | 16.83 | 17.71 |
| Price/Salesi | 2.88 | 3.72 |
| EV/Revenuei | 5.98 | 5.72 |
| Analyst targeti | $91.76 | $121.62 |
| Target upsidei | +20.03% | +14.50% |
| Metric | XEL | WEC |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue growthi | -5.10% | 2.60% |
| Earnings growthi | 24.00% | 19.70% |
| EPS growthi | +24.00% | +19.70% |
| FCF margini | -54.11% | -23.22% |
| Operating margini | 22.70% | 21.80% |
| Profit margini | 15.28% | 16.69% |
| ROIC proxyi | 9.92% | 11.99% |
| Return on equityi | 9.92% | 11.99% |
| Dividend yieldi | 3.10% | 3.59% |
| Payout ratioi | 63.70% | 71.65% |
| Dividend growth streaki | No increase yet | No increase yet |
| Betai | 0.41 | 0.46 |
| Debt/equityi | 173.13 | 157.99 |
| Current ratioi | 0.70 | 0.53 |
| Quick ratioi | 0.48 | 0.30 |
Over the past year, XEL and WEC have moved strongly in the same direction (correlation of 0.79), based on daily returns.
Lower drawdown and smaller single-period drops generally indicate a smoother ride, though they do not guarantee lower future risk.
| Period | Metric | XEL | WEC |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1Y | Growthi | -2.93% | -4.16% |
| CAGRi | -2.94% | -4.16% | |
| Volatilityi | 19.22% | 16.51% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | -0.29 | -0.45 | |
| Sortino ratioi | -0.41 | -0.63 | |
| Max drawdowni | 17.30% | 15.20% | |
| Current drawdowni | 6.98% | 6.53% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 6.18% | 6.02% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 7.27% | 7.17% | |
| Max daily dropi | 3.89% | 2.99% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 6.28% | 5.68% | |
| 5Y | Growthi | +35.28% | +39.83% |
| CAGRi | +6.24% | +6.94% | |
| Volatilityi | 20.90% | 19.05% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | 0.18 | 0.21 | |
| Sortino ratioi | 0.25 | 0.30 | |
| Max drawdowni | 34.41% | 26.02% | |
| Current drawdowni | 6.98% | 6.53% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 9.87% | 9.00% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 12.76% | 11.58% | |
| Max daily dropi | 8.64% | 4.46% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 16.52% | 12.83% | |
| 10Y | Growthi | +151.86% | +154.92% |
| CAGRi | +9.68% | +9.81% | |
| Volatilityi | 21.76% | 21.61% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | 0.33 | 0.34 | |
| Sortino ratioi | 0.46 | 0.47 | |
| Max drawdowni | 34.41% | 32.31% | |
| Current drawdowni | 6.98% | 6.53% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 7.91% | 7.64% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 10.57% | 10.01% | |
| Max daily dropi | 12.69% | 18.05% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 24.25% | 25.48% |
| Category | XEL | WEC |
|---|---|---|
| Company | XEL | WEC |
| Sector | Utilities | Utilities |
| Industry | Utilities - Regulated Electric | Utilities - Regulated Electric |
| Core business | Xcel Energy Inc., through its subsidiaries, operates as an electric and natural gas delivery company in the United States. | WEC Energy Group, Inc., through its subsidiaries, provides regulated natural gas and electricity, and renewable and nonregulated renewable energy services in the United States. |
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