National Fuel Gas (NFG) Competitors

National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) and Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) are both energy companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, media sentiment, valuation, institutional ownership, earnings, dividends, community ranking, analyst recommendations and profitability.

Does the media favor NFG or ATO?

In the previous week, Atmos Energy had 9 more articles in the media than National Fuel Gas. MarketBeat recorded 26 mentions for Atmos Energy and 17 mentions for National Fuel Gas. Atmos Energy's average media sentiment score of 1.30 beat National Fuel Gas' score of 1.21 indicating that Atmos Energy is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
National Fuel Gas	10 Very Positive mention(s)	2 Positive mention(s)	3 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Atmos Energy	20 Very Positive mention(s)	2 Positive mention(s)	2 Neutral mention(s)	1 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

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

74.0% of National Fuel Gas shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 90.2% of Atmos Energy shares are held by institutional investors. 1.4% of National Fuel Gas shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.5% of Atmos Energy shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Is NFG or ATO more profitable?

Atmos Energy has a net margin of 25.90% compared to National Fuel Gas' net margin of -0.53%. National Fuel Gas' return on equity of 15.96% beat Atmos Energy's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
National Fuel Gas	-0.53%	15.96%	5.68%
Atmos Energy	25.90%	8.89%	4.31%

Do analysts recommend NFG or ATO?

National Fuel Gas currently has a consensus target price of $74.67, indicating a potential downside of 5.51%. Atmos Energy has a consensus target price of $154.28, indicating a potential downside of 3.99%. Given Atmos Energy's stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Atmos Energy is more favorable than National Fuel Gas.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
National Fuel Gas	1 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	1 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.50
Atmos Energy	0 Sell rating(s)	4 Hold rating(s)	5 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.70

Does the MarketBeat Community favor NFG or ATO?

Atmos Energy received 36 more outperform votes than National Fuel Gas when rated by MarketBeat users. However, 64.47% of users gave National Fuel Gas an outperform vote while only 63.78% of users gave Atmos Energy an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
National Fuel Gas	Outperform Votes 450 64.47%	Underperform Votes 248 35.53%
Atmos Energy	Outperform Votes 486 63.78%	Underperform Votes 276 36.22%

Is NFG or ATO a better dividend stock?

National Fuel Gas pays an annual dividend of $2.06 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.6%. Atmos Energy pays an annual dividend of $3.48 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.2%. National Fuel Gas pays out -1,471.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Atmos Energy pays out 49.6% 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. National Fuel Gas has increased its dividend for 55 consecutive years and Atmos Energy has increased its dividend for 41 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 volatility and risk, NFG or ATO?

National Fuel Gas 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 0.69, meaning that its stock price is 31% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Which has stronger valuation & earnings, NFG or ATO?

Atmos Energy has higher revenue and earnings than National Fuel Gas. National Fuel Gas 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
National Fuel Gas	$1.97B	3.63	$77.51M	-$0.14	-564.46
Atmos Energy	$4.18B	6.10	$1.04B	$7.02	22.89

Summary

Atmos Energy beats National Fuel Gas on 14 of the 21 factors compared between the two stocks.