National Fuel Gas (NFG) Competitors

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

Does the media favor ATO or NFG?

In the previous week, Atmos Energy had 16 more articles in the media than National Fuel Gas. MarketBeat recorded 26 mentions for Atmos Energy and 10 mentions for National Fuel Gas. Atmos Energy's average media sentiment score of 1.45 beat National Fuel Gas' score of 1.28 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	21 Very Positive mention(s)	3 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
National Fuel Gas	9 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

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 2.3%. National Fuel Gas pays an annual dividend of $2.06 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.6%. Atmos Energy pays out 49.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. National Fuel Gas pays out -1,471.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Atmos Energy has increased its dividend for 41 consecutive years and National Fuel Gas has increased 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.

Does the MarketBeat Community prefer ATO or NFG?

Atmos Energy received 34 more outperform votes than National Fuel Gas when rated by MarketBeat users. However, 64.66% of users gave National Fuel Gas an outperform vote while only 63.85% of users gave Atmos Energy an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
Atmos Energy	Outperform Votes 484 63.85%	Underperform Votes 274 36.15%
National Fuel Gas	Outperform Votes 450 64.66%	Underperform Votes 246 35.34%

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

90.2% of Atmos Energy shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 74.0% of National Fuel Gas shares are held by institutional investors. 0.5% of Atmos Energy shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.4% of National Fuel Gas shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Which has more risk & volatility, ATO or NFG?

Atmos Energy has a beta of 0.67, meaning that its share price is 33% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, National Fuel Gas has a beta of 0.57, meaning that its share price is 43% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Which has preferable valuation and earnings, ATO or NFG?

Atmos Energy has higher revenue and earnings than National Fuel Gas. National Fuel Gas 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	$4.18B	5.68	$1.04B	$7.02	21.31
National Fuel Gas	$1.97B	3.60	$77.51M	-$0.14	-559.18

Is ATO or NFG more profitable?

Atmos Energy has a net margin of 25.90% compared to National Fuel Gas' net margin of -0.53%. National Fuel Gas' return on equity of 15.96% beat Atmos Energy's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Atmos Energy	25.90%	8.89%	4.31%
National Fuel Gas	-0.53%	15.96%	5.68%

Do analysts rate ATO or NFG?

Atmos Energy presently has a consensus target price of $149.15, suggesting a potential downside of 0.30%. National Fuel Gas has a consensus target price of $74.67, suggesting a potential downside of 4.62%. Given Atmos Energy's stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Atmos Energy is more favorable than National Fuel Gas.

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)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.80
National Fuel Gas	1 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	1 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.50

Summary

Atmos Energy beats National Fuel Gas on 14 of the 21 factors compared between the two stocks.