SWX vs. NFG, UGI, NJR, CPK, NWN, OKE, ATO, OGS, SR, and MDU
Should you be buying Southwest Gas stock or one of its competitors? The main competitors of Southwest Gas include National Fuel Gas (NFG), UGI (UGI), NewJersey Resources (NJR), Chesapeake Utilities (CPK), Northwest Natural Gas (NWN), ONEOK (OKE), Atmos Energy (ATO), ONE Gas (OGS), Spire (SR), and MDU Resources Group (MDU).
Southwest Gas vs. Its Competitors
Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX) and National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) are both mid-cap gas utilities companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, dividends, earnings, profitability, institutional ownership, media sentiment, valuation and risk.
Southwest Gas has a beta of 0.48, suggesting that its share price is 52% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, National Fuel Gas has a beta of 0.62, suggesting that its share price is 38% less volatile than the S&P 500.
Southwest Gas has a net margin of 4.66% compared to National Fuel Gas' net margin of 1.91%. National Fuel Gas' return on equity of 18.55% beat Southwest Gas' return on equity.
92.8% of Southwest Gas shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 74.0% of National Fuel Gas shares are held by institutional investors. 0.4% of Southwest Gas shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.4% of National Fuel Gas shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.
Southwest Gas presently has a consensus target price of $77.25, suggesting a potential upside of 0.29%. National Fuel Gas has a consensus target price of $95.33, suggesting a potential upside of 8.31%. Given National Fuel Gas' stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe National Fuel Gas is more favorable than Southwest Gas.
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 79.7% 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 497.7% 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. Southwest Gas is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.
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.
In the previous week, National Fuel Gas had 17 more articles in the media than Southwest Gas. MarketBeat recorded 21 mentions for National Fuel Gas and 4 mentions for Southwest Gas. National Fuel Gas' average media sentiment score of 1.05 beat Southwest Gas' score of 0.71 indicating that National Fuel Gas is being referred to more favorably in the news media.
Summary
National Fuel Gas beats Southwest Gas on 12 of the 19 factors compared between the two stocks.
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New MarketBeat Followers Over Time
This chart shows the number of new MarketBeat users adding SWX and its top 5 competitors to their watchlist. Each company is represented with a line over a 90 day period.
Media Sentiment Over Time
This chart shows the average media sentiment of NYSE and its competitors over the past 90 days as caculated by MarketBeat. The averaged score is equivalent to the following: Very Negative Sentiment <= -1.5, Negative Sentiment > -1.5 and <= -0.5, Neutral Sentiment > -0.5 and < 0.5, Positive Sentiment >= 0.5 and < 1.5, and Very Positive Sentiment >= 1.5.
Southwest Gas Competitors List
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This page (NYSE:SWX) was last updated on 7/17/2025 by MarketBeat.com Staff
