NiSource (NI) Competitors

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) and NiSource (NYSE:NI) are both large-cap utilities companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, earnings, dividends, profitability, risk, valuation, media sentiment and analyst recommendations.

Do analysts recommend ATO or NI?

Atmos Energy currently has a consensus target price of $157.14, indicating a potential downside of 3.27%. NiSource has a consensus target price of $42.56, indicating a potential upside of 0.55%. Given NiSource's stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe NiSource is more favorable than Atmos Energy.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Atmos Energy	0 Sell rating(s)	6 Hold rating(s)	4 Buy rating(s)	2 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.67
NiSource	0 Sell rating(s)	0 Hold rating(s)	9 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	3.00

Does the media refer more to ATO or NI?

In the previous week, Atmos Energy had 2 more articles in the media than NiSource. MarketBeat recorded 28 mentions for Atmos Energy and 26 mentions for NiSource. NiSource's average media sentiment score of 1.09 beat Atmos Energy's score of 1.03 indicating that NiSource is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Atmos Energy	19 Very Positive mention(s)	5 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
NiSource	14 Very Positive mention(s)	3 Positive mention(s)	6 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Which has more risk & volatility, ATO or NI?

Atmos Energy has a beta of 0.69, indicating that its stock price is 31% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, NiSource has a beta of 0.53, indicating that its stock price is 47% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Is ATO or NI more profitable?

Atmos Energy has a net margin of 25.05% compared to NiSource's net margin of 14.46%. Atmos Energy's return on equity of 9.12% beat NiSource's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Atmos Energy	25.05%	9.12%	4.42%
NiSource	14.46%	8.25%	2.73%

Is ATO or NI a better dividend stock?

Atmos Energy pays an annual dividend of $3.48 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.1%. NiSource pays an annual dividend of $1.12 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.6%. Atmos Energy pays out 47.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. NiSource pays out 60.5% 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. Atmos Energy has raised its dividend for 41 consecutive years and NiSource has raised its dividend for 14 consecutive years.

Which has higher earnings and valuation, ATO or NI?

Atmos Energy has higher earnings, but lower revenue than NiSource. Atmos Energy is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than NiSource, 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
Atmos Energy	$4.62B	5.58	$1.04B	$7.28	22.31
NiSource	$5.46B	3.65	$760.40M	$1.85	22.88

Do institutionals and insiders believe in ATO or NI?

90.2% of Atmos Energy shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 91.6% of NiSource shares are held by institutional investors. 0.5% of Atmos Energy shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.2% of NiSource shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

Atmos Energy beats NiSource on 12 of the 20 factors compared between the two stocks.