Atmos Energy (ATO) Competitors

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) and ONEOK (NYSE:OKE) are both large-cap gas utilities companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, analyst recommendations, risk, media sentiment, institutional ownership, earnings, valuation and profitability.

Does the media refer more to ATO or OKE?

In the previous week, Atmos Energy had 1 more articles in the media than ONEOK. MarketBeat recorded 24 mentions for Atmos Energy and 23 mentions for ONEOK. Atmos Energy's average media sentiment score of 1.51 beat ONEOK's score of 1.32 indicating that Atmos Energy is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Atmos Energy	20 Very Positive mention(s)	4 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Very Positive
ONEOK	18 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	5 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Is ATO or OKE more profitable?

Atmos Energy has a net margin of 25.35% compared to ONEOK's net margin of 12.15%. ONEOK's return on equity of 15.58% beat Atmos Energy's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Atmos Energy	25.35%	9.05%	4.39%
ONEOK	12.15%	15.58%	5.42%

Which has better valuation & earnings, ATO or OKE?

ONEOK has higher revenue and earnings than Atmos Energy. ONEOK is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Atmos Energy, 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
Atmos Energy	$4.17B	5.86	$1.04B	$7.20	21.36
ONEOK	$21.70B	2.35	$3.04B	$5.12	15.80

Which has more risk & volatility, ATO or OKE?

Atmos Energy has a beta of 0.7, meaning that its stock price is 30% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, ONEOK has a beta of 0.93, meaning that its stock price is 7% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Do analysts recommend ATO or OKE?

Atmos Energy presently has a consensus target price of $156.05, suggesting a potential upside of 1.48%. ONEOK has a consensus target price of $104.67, suggesting a potential upside of 29.39%. Given ONEOK's higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe ONEOK is more favorable than Atmos Energy.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Atmos Energy	0 Sell rating(s)	5 Hold rating(s)	4 Buy rating(s)	2 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.73
ONEOK	0 Sell rating(s)	6 Hold rating(s)	7 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.64

Is ATO or OKE a better dividend stock?

Atmos Energy pays an annual dividend of $3.48 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.3%. ONEOK pays an annual dividend of $4.12 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.1%. Atmos Energy pays out 48.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. ONEOK pays out 80.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Atmos Energy has raised its dividend for 41 consecutive years and ONEOK has raised its dividend for 3 consecutive years.

Do institutionals & insiders hold more shares of ATO or OKE?

90.2% of Atmos Energy shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 69.1% of ONEOK shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.5% of Atmos Energy shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 0.2% of ONEOK shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Atmos Energy beats ONEOK on 12 of the 20 factors compared between the two stocks.