National Fuel Gas (NFG) Competitors

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) and National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) are both utilities companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, institutional ownership, dividends, profitability, media sentiment, community ranking, analyst recommendations, earnings and valuation.

Do analysts prefer ATO or NFG?

Atmos Energy currently has a consensus price target of $148.61, suggesting a potential upside of 5.12%. National Fuel Gas has a consensus price target of $69.00, suggesting a potential upside of 13.82%. Given National Fuel Gas' higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe National Fuel Gas is more favorable than Atmos Energy.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Atmos Energy	0 Sell rating(s)	3 Hold rating(s)	6 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.67
National Fuel Gas	1 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	1 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.50

Is ATO or NFG more profitable?

Atmos Energy has a net margin of 25.04% compared to National Fuel Gas' net margin of 3.99%. National Fuel Gas' return on equity of 14.88% beat Atmos Energy's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Atmos Energy	25.04%	8.83%	4.27%
National Fuel Gas	3.99%	14.88%	5.43%

Does the MarketBeat Community believe in ATO or NFG?

Atmos Energy received 31 more outperform votes than National Fuel Gas when rated by MarketBeat users. However, 65.12% of users gave National Fuel Gas an outperform vote while only 63.79% of users gave Atmos Energy an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
Atmos Energy	Outperform Votes 481 63.79%	Underperform Votes 273 36.21%
National Fuel Gas	Outperform Votes 450 65.12%	Underperform Votes 241 34.88%

Which has stronger valuation & earnings, ATO or NFG?

Atmos Energy has higher revenue and earnings than National Fuel Gas. Atmos Energy is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than National Fuel Gas, 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	5.27	$1.04B	$6.87	20.58
National Fuel Gas	$1.94B	2.83	$77.51M	$0.81	74.84

Is ATO or NFG a better dividend stock?

Atmos Energy pays an annual dividend of $3.48 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.5%. National Fuel Gas pays an annual dividend of $2.06 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.4%. Atmos Energy pays out 50.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. National Fuel Gas pays out 254.3% 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 National Fuel Gas has raised its dividend for 55 consecutive years. National Fuel Gas is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Do institutionals and insiders have more ownership in ATO or NFG?

90.2% of Atmos Energy shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 74.0% of National Fuel Gas shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.5% of Atmos Energy shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.6% of National Fuel Gas shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Which has more volatility & risk, ATO or NFG?

Atmos Energy has a beta of 0.7, suggesting that its stock price is 30% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, National Fuel Gas has a beta of 0.63, suggesting that its stock price is 37% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Does the media refer more to ATO or NFG?

In the previous week, Atmos Energy had 7 more articles in the media than National Fuel Gas. MarketBeat recorded 18 mentions for Atmos Energy and 11 mentions for National Fuel Gas. National Fuel Gas' average media sentiment score of 1.51 beat Atmos Energy's score of 1.16 indicating that National Fuel Gas is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Atmos Energy	12 Very Positive mention(s)	4 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
National Fuel Gas	10 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Very Positive

Summary

Atmos Energy beats National Fuel Gas on 12 of the 22 factors compared between the two stocks.