Northwest Natural Gas (NWN) Competitors

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

Do analysts prefer NWN or ATO?

Northwest Natural Gas currently has a consensus price target of $48.00, suggesting a potential upside of 15.86%. Atmos Energy has a consensus price target of $158.27, suggesting a potential downside of 3.40%. Given Northwest Natural Gas' higher probable upside, research analysts plainly believe Northwest Natural Gas is more favorable than Atmos Energy.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Northwest Natural Gas	0 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	1 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.33
Atmos Energy	0 Sell rating(s)	7 Hold rating(s)	4 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.50

Does the media favor NWN or ATO?

In the previous week, Atmos Energy had 4 more articles in the media than Northwest Natural Gas. MarketBeat recorded 11 mentions for Atmos Energy and 7 mentions for Northwest Natural Gas. Atmos Energy's average media sentiment score of 1.52 beat Northwest Natural Gas' score of 1.45 indicating that Atmos Energy is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Northwest Natural Gas	7 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Atmos Energy	10 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Very Positive

Is NWN or ATO more profitable?

Atmos Energy has a net margin of 25.05% compared to Northwest Natural Gas' net margin of 8.34%. Atmos Energy's return on equity of 9.00% beat Northwest Natural Gas' return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Northwest Natural Gas	8.34%	8.60%	2.25%
Atmos Energy	25.05%	9.00%	4.35%

Is NWN or ATO a better dividend stock?

Northwest Natural Gas pays an annual dividend of $1.96 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.7%. Atmos Energy pays an annual dividend of $3.48 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.1%. Northwest Natural Gas pays out 77.5% 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 pays out 47.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Northwest Natural Gas has raised its dividend for 70 consecutive years and Atmos Energy has raised its dividend for 41 consecutive years. Northwest Natural Gas is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Do insiders and institutionals hold more shares of NWN or ATO?

75.1% of Northwest Natural Gas shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 90.2% of Atmos Energy shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.9% of Northwest Natural Gas shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 0.5% of Atmos Energy shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Which has preferable earnings and valuation, NWN or ATO?

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
Northwest Natural Gas	$1.15B	1.45	$78.87M	$2.53	16.37
Atmos Energy	$4.17B	6.31	$1.04B	$7.28	22.51

Which has more volatility & risk, NWN or ATO?

Northwest Natural Gas has a beta of 0.59, meaning that its share price is 41% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Atmos Energy has a beta of 0.75, meaning that its share price is 25% 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.