NewJersey Resources (NJR) Competitors

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) and NewJersey Resources (NYSE:NJR) are both utilities companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, risk, valuation, profitability, dividends, analyst recommendations, media sentiment and institutional ownership.

Do institutionals & insiders have more ownership in ATO or NJR?

90.2% of Atmos Energy shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 71.0% of NewJersey Resources shares are held by institutional investors. 0.5% of Atmos Energy shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 0.7% of NewJersey Resources shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Does the media prefer ATO or NJR?

In the previous week, Atmos Energy had 3 more articles in the media than NewJersey Resources. MarketBeat recorded 9 mentions for Atmos Energy and 6 mentions for NewJersey Resources. Atmos Energy's average media sentiment score of 1.24 beat NewJersey Resources' score of 0.94 indicating that Atmos Energy is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Atmos Energy	7 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
NewJersey Resources	4 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	2 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Which has preferable valuation and earnings, ATO or NJR?

Atmos Energy has higher revenue and earnings than NewJersey Resources. NewJersey Resources 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
Atmos Energy	$4.17B	5.97	$1.04B	$7.20	21.75
NewJersey Resources	$1.80B	2.56	$289.77M	$4.12	11.11

Do analysts recommend ATO or NJR?

Atmos Energy currently has a consensus target price of $156.95, suggesting a potential upside of 0.24%. NewJersey Resources has a consensus target price of $51.29, suggesting a potential upside of 12.08%. Given NewJersey Resources' higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe NewJersey Resources is more favorable than Atmos Energy.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Atmos Energy	0 Sell rating(s)	5 Hold rating(s)	4 Buy rating(s)	2 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.73
NewJersey Resources	0 Sell rating(s)	4 Hold rating(s)	2 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.33

Is ATO or NJR a better dividend stock?

Atmos Energy pays an annual dividend of $3.48 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.2%. NewJersey Resources pays an annual dividend of $1.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.9%. Atmos Energy pays out 48.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. NewJersey Resources pays out 43.7% 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 increased its dividend for 41 consecutive years and NewJersey Resources has increased its dividend for 29 consecutive years. NewJersey Resources is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Is ATO or NJR more profitable?

Atmos Energy has a net margin of 25.35% compared to NewJersey Resources' net margin of 20.03%. NewJersey Resources' return on equity of 16.95% beat Atmos Energy's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Atmos Energy	25.35%	9.05%	4.39%
NewJersey Resources	20.03%	16.95%	5.48%

Which has more volatility and risk, ATO or NJR?

Atmos Energy has a beta of 0.7, meaning that its share price is 30% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, NewJersey Resources has a beta of 0.61, meaning that its share price is 39% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

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