Northwest Natural Gas (NWN) Competitors

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

Do insiders & institutionals believe in ATO or NWN?

90.2% of Atmos Energy shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 75.1% of Northwest Natural Gas shares are held by institutional investors. 0.5% of Atmos Energy shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 0.8% of Northwest Natural Gas shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Is ATO or NWN a better dividend stock?

Atmos Energy pays an annual dividend of $3.48 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.2%. Northwest Natural Gas pays an annual dividend of $1.96 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.8%. Atmos Energy pays out 48.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Northwest Natural Gas pays out 77.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Atmos Energy has raised its dividend for 41 consecutive years and Northwest Natural Gas has raised its dividend for 70 consecutive years. Northwest Natural Gas is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Do analysts prefer ATO or NWN?

Atmos Energy presently has a consensus target price of $156.95, suggesting a potential upside of 0.60%. Northwest Natural Gas has a consensus target price of $46.33, suggesting a potential upside of 14.02%. Given Northwest Natural Gas' higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Northwest Natural Gas 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
Northwest Natural Gas	0 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	2 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.67

Does the media refer more to ATO or NWN?

In the previous week, Atmos Energy had 10 more articles in the media than Northwest Natural Gas. MarketBeat recorded 16 mentions for Atmos Energy and 6 mentions for Northwest Natural Gas. Atmos Energy's average media sentiment score of 1.70 beat Northwest Natural Gas' score of 1.10 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	13 Very Positive mention(s)	2 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Very Positive
Northwest Natural Gas	6 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Is ATO or NWN more profitable?

Atmos Energy has a net margin of 25.35% compared to Northwest Natural Gas' net margin of 8.48%. Atmos Energy's return on equity of 9.05% beat Northwest Natural Gas' return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Atmos Energy	25.35%	9.05%	4.39%
Northwest Natural Gas	8.48%	8.56%	2.29%

Which has stronger earnings and valuation, ATO or NWN?

Atmos Energy has higher revenue and earnings than Northwest Natural Gas. Northwest Natural 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
Atmos Energy	$4.49B	5.52	$1.04B	$7.20	21.67
Northwest Natural Gas	$1.21B	1.35	$78.87M	$2.52	16.13

Which has more risk and volatility, ATO or NWN?

Atmos Energy has a beta of 0.7, suggesting that its stock price is 30% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Northwest Natural Gas has a beta of 0.53, suggesting that its stock price is 47% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Atmos Energy beats Northwest Natural Gas on 16 of the 20 factors compared between the two stocks.