NewJersey Resources (NJR) Competitors

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

Do analysts recommend NJR or ATO?

NewJersey Resources presently has a consensus price target of $51.29, indicating a potential upside of 10.65%. Atmos Energy has a consensus price target of $156.95, indicating a potential upside of 1.37%. Given NewJersey Resources' higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe NewJersey Resources is more favorable than Atmos Energy.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
NewJersey Resources	0 Sell rating(s)	4 Hold rating(s)	2 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.33
Atmos Energy	0 Sell rating(s)	5 Hold rating(s)	4 Buy rating(s)	2 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.73

Is NJR or ATO a better dividend stock?

NewJersey Resources pays an annual dividend of $1.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.9%. Atmos Energy pays an annual dividend of $3.48 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.2%. NewJersey Resources pays out 43.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Atmos Energy pays out 48.3% 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. NewJersey Resources has increased its dividend for 29 consecutive years and Atmos Energy has increased its dividend for 41 consecutive years. NewJersey Resources is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Does the media favor NJR or ATO?

In the previous week, Atmos Energy had 9 more articles in the media than NewJersey Resources. MarketBeat recorded 14 mentions for Atmos Energy and 5 mentions for NewJersey Resources. Atmos Energy's average media sentiment score of 1.19 beat NewJersey Resources' score of 0.69 indicating that Atmos Energy is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
NewJersey Resources	3 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	2 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Atmos Energy	10 Very Positive mention(s)	2 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Is NJR or ATO more profitable?

Atmos Energy has a net margin of 25.35% compared to NewJersey Resources' net margin of 20.03%. NewJersey Resources' return on equity of 16.95% beat Atmos Energy's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
NewJersey Resources	20.03%	16.95%	5.48%
Atmos Energy	25.35%	9.05%	4.39%

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

71.0% of NewJersey Resources shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 90.2% of Atmos Energy shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.7% of NewJersey Resources shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 0.5% of Atmos Energy shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Which has more volatility & risk, NJR or ATO?

NewJersey Resources has a beta of 0.61, meaning that its stock price is 39% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Atmos Energy has a beta of 0.7, meaning that its stock price is 30% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Which has stronger valuation & earnings, NJR or ATO?

Atmos Energy has higher revenue and earnings than NewJersey Resources. NewJersey Resources 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
NewJersey Resources	$1.80B	2.59	$289.77M	$4.12	11.25
Atmos Energy	$4.17B	5.90	$1.04B	$7.20	21.50

Summary

Atmos Energy beats NewJersey Resources on 14 of the 20 factors compared between the two stocks.