Southwest Gas (SWX) Competitors

Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX) and National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) are both mid-cap gas utilities companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their media sentiment, analyst recommendations, risk, profitability, dividends, valuation, institutional ownership and earnings.

Is SWX or NFG a better dividend stock?

Southwest Gas pays an annual dividend of $2.48 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.2%. National Fuel Gas pays an annual dividend of $2.14 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.4%. Southwest Gas pays out 92.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. National Fuel Gas pays out 80.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. National Fuel Gas has raised its dividend for 55 consecutive years.

Does the media refer more to SWX or NFG?

In the previous week, National Fuel Gas had 4 more articles in the media than Southwest Gas. MarketBeat recorded 7 mentions for National Fuel Gas and 3 mentions for Southwest Gas. National Fuel Gas' average media sentiment score of 1.33 beat Southwest Gas' score of 1.16 indicating that National Fuel Gas is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Southwest Gas	2 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
National Fuel Gas	6 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	1 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Which has more risk and volatility, SWX or NFG?

Southwest Gas has a beta of 0.55, suggesting that its share price is 45% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, National Fuel Gas has a beta of 0.58, suggesting that its share price is 42% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Which has higher valuation & earnings, SWX or NFG?

Southwest Gas has higher revenue and earnings than National Fuel Gas. Southwest Gas is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than National Fuel Gas, 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
Southwest Gas	$5.11B	1.10	$198.82M	$2.68	29.20
National Fuel Gas	$1.94B	4.10	$77.51M	$2.66	33.16

Do insiders and institutionals hold more shares of SWX or NFG?

92.8% of Southwest Gas shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 74.0% of National Fuel Gas shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.5% of Southwest Gas shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 1.4% of National Fuel Gas shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Is SWX or NFG more profitable?

National Fuel Gas has a net margin of 11.15% compared to Southwest Gas' net margin of 4.06%. National Fuel Gas' return on equity of 20.81% beat Southwest Gas' return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Southwest Gas	4.06%	6.98%	2.20%
National Fuel Gas	11.15%	20.81%	7.03%

Do analysts rate SWX or NFG?

Southwest Gas presently has a consensus target price of $82.33, suggesting a potential upside of 5.20%. National Fuel Gas has a consensus target price of $96.67, suggesting a potential upside of 9.59%. Given National Fuel Gas' higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe National Fuel Gas is more favorable than Southwest Gas.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Southwest Gas	0 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	2 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.80
National Fuel Gas	0 Sell rating(s)	3 Hold rating(s)	2 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.67

Summary

National Fuel Gas beats Southwest Gas on 12 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.