Spire (SR) Competitors

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

Which has more risk & volatility, SR or ATO?

Spire has a beta of 0.66, indicating that its share price is 34% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Atmos Energy has a beta of 0.69, indicating that its share price is 31% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Which has better valuation & earnings, SR or ATO?

Atmos Energy has higher revenue and earnings than Spire. Spire 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
Spire	$2.59B	1.75	$250.90M	$4.63	16.59
Atmos Energy	$4.17B	6.39	$1.04B	$7.28	22.79

Is SR or ATO more profitable?

Atmos Energy has a net margin of 25.05% compared to Spire's net margin of 11.56%. Atmos Energy's return on equity of 9.00% beat Spire's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Spire	11.56%	8.66%	2.42%
Atmos Energy	25.05%	9.00%	4.35%

Do institutionals & insiders hold more shares of SR or ATO?

87.4% of Spire shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 90.2% of Atmos Energy shares are owned by institutional investors. 2.3% of Spire shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.5% of Atmos Energy shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Is SR or ATO a better dividend stock?

Spire pays an annual dividend of $3.14 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.1%. Atmos Energy pays an annual dividend of $3.48 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.1%. Spire pays out 67.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Atmos Energy pays out 47.8% 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. Spire has increased its dividend for 22 consecutive years and Atmos Energy has increased its dividend for 41 consecutive years.

Does the media refer more to SR or ATO?

In the previous week, Atmos Energy had 37 more articles in the media than Spire. MarketBeat recorded 40 mentions for Atmos Energy and 3 mentions for Spire. Atmos Energy's average media sentiment score of 1.12 beat Spire's score of 0.60 indicating that Atmos Energy is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Spire	1 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	2 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Atmos Energy	25 Very Positive mention(s)	8 Positive mention(s)	2 Neutral mention(s)	1 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Do analysts prefer SR or ATO?

Spire presently has a consensus price target of $78.60, indicating a potential upside of 2.32%. Atmos Energy has a consensus price target of $158.27, indicating a potential downside of 4.59%. Given Spire's higher probable upside, research analysts clearly believe Spire is more favorable than Atmos Energy.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Spire	1 Sell rating(s)	5 Hold rating(s)	3 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.40
Atmos Energy	0 Sell rating(s)	7 Hold rating(s)	4 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.50

Summary

Atmos Energy beats Spire on 16 of the 19 factors compared between the two stocks.