Atmos Energy (ATO) Competitors

Alliant Energy (NASDAQ:LNT) and Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) are both large-cap utilities companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, earnings, profitability, institutional ownership, risk, valuation, media sentiment and analyst recommendations.

Do analysts prefer LNT or ATO?

Alliant Energy presently has a consensus price target of $64.32, suggesting a potential upside of 4.21%. Atmos Energy has a consensus price target of $156.05, suggesting a potential upside of 1.89%. Given Alliant Energy's higher possible upside, equities analysts clearly believe Alliant Energy is more favorable than Atmos Energy.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Alliant Energy	1 Sell rating(s)	5 Hold rating(s)	5 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.36
Atmos Energy	0 Sell rating(s)	5 Hold rating(s)	4 Buy rating(s)	2 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.73

Does the media refer more to LNT or ATO?

In the previous week, Alliant Energy had 3 more articles in the media than Atmos Energy. MarketBeat recorded 12 mentions for Alliant Energy and 9 mentions for Atmos Energy. Atmos Energy's average media sentiment score of 1.39 beat Alliant Energy's score of 1.25 indicating that Atmos Energy is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Alliant Energy	7 Very Positive mention(s)	3 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Atmos Energy	6 Very Positive mention(s)	3 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Is LNT or ATO more profitable?

Atmos Energy has a net margin of 25.35% compared to Alliant Energy's net margin of 18.26%. Alliant Energy's return on equity of 12.01% beat Atmos Energy's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Alliant Energy	18.26%	12.01%	3.71%
Atmos Energy	25.35%	9.05%	4.39%

Do institutionals and insiders believe in LNT or ATO?

79.9% of Alliant Energy shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 90.2% of Atmos Energy shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.3% of Alliant Energy shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.5% of Atmos Energy shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Which has better earnings & valuation, LNT or ATO?

Atmos Energy has higher revenue and earnings than Alliant Energy. Atmos Energy is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Alliant 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
Alliant Energy	$3.98B	3.98	$690M	$2.90	21.28
Atmos Energy	$4.17B	5.84	$1.04B	$7.20	21.27

Which has more risk & volatility, LNT or ATO?

Alliant Energy has a beta of 0.56, suggesting that its stock price is 44% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Atmos Energy has a beta of 0.7, suggesting that its stock price is 30% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Is LNT or ATO a better dividend stock?

Alliant Energy pays an annual dividend of $2.03 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.3%. Atmos Energy pays an annual dividend of $3.48 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.3%. Alliant Energy pays out 70.0% 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. Alliant Energy has raised its dividend for 22 consecutive years and Atmos Energy has raised its dividend for 41 consecutive years.

Summary

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