UGI (UGI) Competitors

UGI (NYSE:UGI) 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 earnings, valuation, media sentiment, institutional ownership, risk, profitability, analyst recommendations and dividends.

Is UGI or ATO more profitable?

Atmos Energy has a net margin of 25.35% compared to UGI's net margin of 7.28%. UGI's return on equity of 16.21% beat Atmos Energy's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
UGI	7.28%	16.21%	4.93%
Atmos Energy	25.35%	9.05%	4.39%

Do analysts recommend UGI or ATO?

UGI currently has a consensus price target of $31.33, indicating a potential downside of 10.88%. Atmos Energy has a consensus price target of $156.05, indicating a potential upside of 2.48%. Given Atmos Energy's stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Atmos Energy is more favorable than UGI.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
UGI	0 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	2 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.67
Atmos Energy	0 Sell rating(s)	5 Hold rating(s)	4 Buy rating(s)	2 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.73

Which has better earnings and valuation, UGI or ATO?

Atmos Energy has lower revenue, but higher earnings than UGI. UGI 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
UGI	$7.21B	1.05	$269M	$2.43	14.47
Atmos Energy	$4.17B	5.81	$1.04B	$7.20	21.15

Which has more volatility and risk, UGI or ATO?

UGI has a beta of 1.05, suggesting that its stock price is 5% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Atmos Energy has a beta of 0.7, suggesting that its stock price is 30% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Does the media refer more to UGI or ATO?

In the previous week, Atmos Energy had 4 more articles in the media than UGI. MarketBeat recorded 20 mentions for Atmos Energy and 16 mentions for UGI. Atmos Energy's average media sentiment score of 1.48 beat UGI's score of 0.34 indicating that Atmos Energy is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
UGI	6 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	4 Neutral mention(s)	4 Negative mention(s)	1 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral
Atmos Energy	16 Very Positive mention(s)	4 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Is UGI or ATO a better dividend stock?

UGI pays an annual dividend of $1.50 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.3%. Atmos Energy pays an annual dividend of $3.48 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.3%. UGI pays out 61.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Atmos Energy pays out 48.3% 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. UGI has increased its dividend for 37 consecutive years and Atmos Energy has increased its dividend for 41 consecutive years.

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

82.3% of UGI shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 90.2% of Atmos Energy shares are held by institutional investors. 0.7% of UGI shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 0.5% of Atmos Energy shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Atmos Energy beats UGI on 14 of the 20 factors compared between the two stocks.