Southwest Gas (SWX) Competitors

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

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

92.8% of Southwest Gas shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 74.0% of National Fuel Gas shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.4% of Southwest Gas 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 large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Is SWX or NFG more profitable?

National Fuel Gas has a net margin of 3.99% compared to Southwest Gas' net margin of 3.44%. National Fuel Gas' return on equity of 14.88% beat Southwest Gas' return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Southwest Gas	3.44%	5.99%	1.76%
National Fuel Gas	3.99%	14.88%	5.43%

Does the media prefer SWX or NFG?

In the previous week, Southwest Gas and Southwest Gas both had 8 articles in the media. National Fuel Gas' average media sentiment score of 1.50 beat Southwest Gas' score of 1.47 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
Southwest Gas	3 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	3 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
National Fuel Gas	6 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	1 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Which has better earnings and valuation, SWX or NFG?

Southwest Gas has higher revenue and earnings than National Fuel Gas. Southwest Gas 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
Southwest Gas	$5.43B	1.01	$150.89M	$2.48	30.77
National Fuel Gas	$1.94B	2.90	$77.51M	$0.81	76.14

Is SWX or NFG a better dividend stock?

Southwest Gas pays an annual dividend of $2.48 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.3%. National Fuel Gas pays an annual dividend of $2.06 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.3%. Southwest Gas pays out 100.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. 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. Southwest Gas has increased its dividend for 17 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.

Which has more risk and volatility, SWX or NFG?

Southwest Gas has a beta of 0.38, meaning that its share price is 62% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, National Fuel Gas has a beta of 0.62, meaning that its share price is 38% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Does the MarketBeat Community favor SWX or NFG?

National Fuel Gas received 173 more outperform votes than Southwest Gas when rated by MarketBeat users. Likewise, 65.36% of users gave National Fuel Gas an outperform vote while only 51.21% of users gave Southwest Gas an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
Southwest Gas	Outperform Votes 276 51.21%	Underperform Votes 263 48.79%
National Fuel Gas	Outperform Votes 449 65.36%	Underperform Votes 238 34.64%

Do analysts rate SWX or NFG?

Southwest Gas currently has a consensus price target of $73.67, suggesting a potential downside of 3.45%. National Fuel Gas has a consensus price target of $69.00, suggesting a potential upside of 11.89%. Given National Fuel Gas' higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe National Fuel Gas is more favorable than Southwest Gas.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Southwest Gas	0 Sell rating(s)	3 Hold rating(s)	0 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.00
National Fuel Gas	1 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	1 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.00

Summary

National Fuel Gas beats Southwest Gas on 14 of the 19 factors compared between the two stocks.