Southwest Gas (SWX) Competitors

UGI (NYSE:UGI) and Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX) are both mid-cap utilities companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, profitability, valuation, analyst recommendations, media sentiment, earnings, risk and dividends.

Which has more risk and volatility, UGI or SWX?

UGI has a beta of 1.05, suggesting that its stock price is 5% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Southwest Gas has a beta of 0.48, suggesting that its stock price is 52% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Which has higher earnings and valuation, UGI or SWX?

UGI has higher revenue and earnings than Southwest Gas. UGI is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Southwest 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
UGI	$7.21B	1.07	$269M	$2.43	14.75
Southwest Gas	$5.11B	1.10	$198.82M	$3.11	25.20

Does the media prefer UGI or SWX?

In the previous week, UGI had 12 more articles in the media than Southwest Gas. MarketBeat recorded 18 mentions for UGI and 6 mentions for Southwest Gas. UGI's average media sentiment score of 1.25 beat Southwest Gas' score of 1.24 indicating that UGI is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
UGI	15 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	1 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Southwest Gas	5 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Do institutionals & insiders have more ownership in UGI or SWX?

82.3% of UGI shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 92.8% of Southwest Gas shares are held by institutional investors. 0.7% of UGI shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.4% of Southwest Gas shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Is UGI or SWX more profitable?

UGI has a net margin of 7.28% compared to Southwest Gas' net margin of 4.66%. UGI's return on equity of 16.21% beat Southwest Gas' return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
UGI	7.28%	16.21%	4.93%
Southwest Gas	4.66%	6.76%	2.08%

Is UGI or SWX a better dividend stock?

UGI pays an annual dividend of $1.50 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.2%. Southwest Gas pays an annual dividend of $2.48 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.2%. UGI pays out 61.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Southwest Gas pays out 79.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. UGI has increased its dividend for 37 consecutive years. UGI is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Do analysts prefer UGI or SWX?

UGI presently has a consensus target price of $31.33, suggesting a potential downside of 12.56%. Southwest Gas has a consensus target price of $77.25, suggesting a potential downside of 1.44%. Given Southwest Gas' higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Southwest Gas is more favorable than UGI.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
UGI	0 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	2 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.67
Southwest Gas	0 Sell rating(s)	3 Hold rating(s)	1 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.60

Summary

UGI beats Southwest Gas on 14 of the 20 factors compared between the two stocks.