SWX vs. UGI, NFG, NJR, CPK, NWN, OKE, ATO, SR, OGS, and MDU
Should you be buying Southwest Gas stock or one of its competitors? The main competitors of Southwest Gas include UGI (UGI), National Fuel Gas (NFG), NewJersey Resources (NJR), Chesapeake Utilities (CPK), Northwest Natural Gas (NWN), ONEOK (OKE), Atmos Energy (ATO), Spire (SR), ONE Gas (OGS), and MDU Resources Group (MDU).
Southwest Gas vs. Its 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Summary
UGI beats Southwest Gas on 14 of the 20 factors compared between the two stocks.
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New MarketBeat Followers Over Time
This chart shows the number of new MarketBeat users adding SWX and its top 5 competitors to their watchlist. Each company is represented with a line over a 90 day period.
Skip ChartMedia Sentiment Over Time
This chart shows the average media sentiment of NYSE and its competitors over the past 90 days as caculated by MarketBeat. The averaged score is equivalent to the following: Very Negative Sentiment <= -1.5, Negative Sentiment > -1.5 and <= -0.5, Neutral Sentiment > -0.5 and < 0.5, Positive Sentiment >= 0.5 and < 1.5, and Very Positive Sentiment >= 1.5.
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Southwest Gas Competitors List
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This page (NYSE:SWX) was last updated on 7/24/2025 by MarketBeat.com Staff