ATO vs NJR vs NI Stock Comparison

Atmos Energy, New Jersey Resources and Nisource Prices as of Oct 29, 2026 Peers: Industry group
ATO Atmos Energy Corp
$171.04 +8.5% 1M -0.4% 1Y
Market cap
$28.95B
P/E
20.6x
Revenue (TTM)
$4.92B
Div. yield
0.02%
Regulated Gas Utilities Utilities
5 wins
NJR New Jersey Resources Corp
$53.11 +4.4% 1M +19.9% 1Y
Market cap
$5.38B
P/E
14.7x
Revenue (TTM)
$2.23B
Div. yield
0.04%
Regulated Gas Utilities Utilities
6 wins
NI Nisource Inc.
$44.74 +13.7% 1M +5.4% 1Y
Market cap
$21.36B
P/E
22.6x
Revenue (TTM)
$11.70B
Div. yield
0.03%
Regulated Gas Utilities Utilities
1 win

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

New Jersey Resources leads on 6 of the 12 questions below (New Jersey Resources 6, Atmos Energy 5, Nisource 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionATONJRNILeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $28.95B $5.38B $21.36B ATO
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 20.6x 14.7x 22.6x NJR
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 20.8x 14.4x 20.5x NJR
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +6.5% +6.4% +84.9% NI
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 28.5% 16.4% 8.1% ATO
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 5.9% 7.2% 5.8% NJR
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 3.7x 4.9x 5.7x ATO
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.02% 0.04% 0.03% NJR
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -0.4% +19.9% +5.4% NJR
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +13.2%/yr +7.0%/yr +12.7%/yr ATO
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 16.1% 18.5% 18.1% ATO
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 62/100 65/100 49/100 NJR

Percentile Scorecard

ATONJRNI

Each axis is the mean percentile of its metrics against the company's industry group. 100 is the best in the group, 50 the middle.

Scores by Axis

AxisATONJRNI
Valuation 14 #58 of 67 73 #19 of 67 56 #30 of 67
Growth 66 #23 of 65 25 #49 of 65 72 #19 of 65
Profitability 86 #10 of 63 95 #4 of 63 26 #47 of 63
Financial Health 93 #5 of 62 53 #30 of 62 20 #50 of 62
Shareholder Returns 52 #33 of 67 79 #15 of 67 70 #21 of 67
Overall 62 65 49
  • ATO ranked among 67 companies in Regulated Utilities
  • NJR ranked among 67 companies in Regulated Utilities
  • NI ranked among 67 companies in Regulated Utilities

Price Performance

Price return, split-adjusted, before dividends. Click a name to hide or show it.

Returns

PeriodATONJRNISPY
1 month +8.5%+4.4%+13.7% +0.7%
3 months -1.9%-9.3%-0.8% +3.7%
6 months -10.0%-5.7%-7.3% +7.1%
Year to date +2.0%+15.2%+7.1% +12.8%
1 year -0.4%+19.9%+5.4% +11.9%
3 years +60.7%+30.6%+78.1% +85.2%
3 years, per year +17.1%+9.3%+21.2% +22.8%
5 years +85.7%+40.5%+81.4% +67.6%
5 years, per year +13.2%+7.0%+12.7% +10.9%
10 years +137.6%+60.5%+98.6% +262.0%
10 years, per year +9.0%+4.8%+7.1% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureATONJRNISPY
Volatility, 1Y 16.1%18.5%18.1% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 16.5%18.6%19.3% 12.6%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y -0.21-0.430.13 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.021.070.30 0.94
Max drawdown, 5Y -20.0%-29.1%-28.6% -25.4%
From 52-week high -11.1%-11.5%-8.8% -1.2%
52-week high $192.29$60.03$49.08 $779.14
52-week low $156.25$44.13$38.99 $631.97

Valuation History

Weekly multiples on trailing twelve-month fundamentals. Negative or extreme readings (a loss year, a collapsed denominator) are left out so the chart stays readable.

MultipleATONJRNI
P/E now vs peer median 20.5xmedian 20.5x 14.7xmedian 20.5x 22.8xmedian 20.5x
P/S now vs peer median 5.9xmedian 2.9x 2.4xmedian 2.9x 1.8xmedian 2.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 14.9xmedian 13.1x 12.0xmedian 13.1x 12.4xmedian 13.1x
P/FCF now vs peer median -14.3xmedian 40.5x -47.8xmedian 40.5x -13.7xmedian 40.5x
P/B now vs peer median 1.9xmedian 1.7x 2.0xmedian 1.7x 1.8xmedian 1.7x
PEG now vs peer median 1.58median 2.14 1.91median 2.14 2.36median 2.14

Financial History

Reported figures by fiscal period, placed on the calendar year (or quarter) each period ended in, so companies with different fiscal years line up.

Trailing twelve monthsATONJRNI
Revenue $4.92B $2.23B $11.70B
Gross profit $3.95B $1.27B $10.15B
Operating income $1.82B $552.53M $1.90B
Net income $1.40B $366.16M $1.02B
Free cash flow -$2.02B -$112.71M -$1.57B
EPS (diluted) $8.28 $3.60 $1.96
Cash & equivalents $525.81M $33.96M $57.50M
Total debt $10.25B $3.70B $18.26B
Shares (diluted) 169.37M 101.78M 481.10M
Enterprise value $27.72B $5.22B $21.05B

All Metrics

58 metrics · best in bold

Bold marks the best reading: the lowest positive value for multiples, leverage and payout, the highest for everything else. The bar under each value is its percentile against that company's own peers. Hover a value for its rank and the peer median.

Valuation

12 metrics
MetricATONJRNI
P/E 20.5x 14.7x 22.8x
P/FCF -14.3x -47.8x -13.7x
P/Operating cash flow 14.3x 8.2x 9.0x
P/S 5.9x 2.4x 1.8x
P/B 1.9x 2.0x 1.8x
P/Tangible book 1.9x 2.0x 1.8x
EV/EBITDA 14.9x 12.0x 12.4x
EV/EBIT 21.2x 16.4x 20.8x
EV/Revenue 7.8x 4.1x 3.4x
EV/FCF -19.1x -80.3x -25.3x
EV/Operating cash flow 19.1x 13.7x 16.7x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 1.58 1.91 2.36

Growth

14 metrics
MetricATONJRNI
Revenue growth (1Y) 6.5% 6.4% 84.9%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 3.7% -2.4% 26.4%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 10.3% 5.6% 109.3%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 12.6% 7.6% 37.5%
Operating income growth (1Y) 19.3% -10.1% 9.6%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 21.3% 9.3% 13.6%
Net income growth (1Y) 21.1% -11.1% 4.0%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 18.7% 9.1% 11.3%
EPS growth (1Y) 15.3% -12.3% 3.7%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 13.0% 7.7% 9.6%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) -0.6% 46.5% 8.8%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) -14.8% 11.5% 7.7%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -47.1% 4.2% -209.3%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -84.9% -72.7% -33.6%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricATONJRNI
Gross margin 80.3% 57.1% 86.7%
EBITDA margin 52.8% 33.8% 27.4%
Operating margin 37.0% 24.8% 16.3%
Pretax margin 35.6% 20.9% 9.5%
Net margin 28.5% 16.4% 8.1%
FCF margin -41.1% -5.1% -13.4%
Operating cash flow margin 41.0% 29.6% 20.4%
Return on equity 9.3% 13.5% 8.5%
Return on assets 4.5% 4.5% 2.6%
Return on invested capital 5.9% 7.2% 5.8%
Return on capital employed 6.2% 7.8% 5.7%
Asset turnover 0.2x 0.3x 0.3x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.4x 1.8x 2.3x
Stock comp / revenue – – –

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricATONJRNI
Debt / assets 32.5% 46.1% 47.0%
Debt / equity 0.7x 1.4x 1.5x
Net debt / EBITDA 3.7x 4.9x 5.7x
Debt / FCF -5.1x -32.9x -11.7x
Liabilities / assets 51.7% 67.1% 69.2%
Equity / assets 48.3% 32.9% 30.8%
Interest coverage 12.8x 4.1x 2.4x
Current ratio 0.8x 0.7x 0.5x
Quick ratio 0.5x 0.3x 0.2x
Cash ratio 0.3x 0.0x 0.0x
Altman Z-score 1.64 1.35 0.86

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricATONJRNI
Dividend yield 2.3% 3.6% 2.6%
Net buyback yield -3.7% -0.8% -0.3%
Shareholder yield -1.4% 2.8% 2.3%
Payout ratio (earnings) 45.1% 51.5% 56.1%
Payout ratio (FCF) -31.3% -167.4% -36.5%
Dividend growth (1Y) 17.4% 6.9% 9.8%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) 15.0% 9.2% 12.1%

Analyst Estimates

Solid lines are reported fiscal-year results; dashed lines are the consensus for the years ahead. Hover a year for the analysts' high and low, and how each result compared with its estimate.

ConsensusATONJRNI
Forward P/E 20.8xFY2026 14.4xFY2026 20.5xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $8.21FY2026 $3.70FY2026 $2.18FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +10.1%FY2026 +12.5%FY2026 +14.7%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +5.8% -3.0% +6.9%
Revenue, next fiscal year $5.40BFY2026 $2.31BFY2026 $6.91BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +14.4%FY2026 +13.3%FY2026 +4.6%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +7.5% -3.5% +0.9%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersATONJRNI
Held by institutions 96.4% 79.4% 96.0%
Institutions holding 1,045 457 913
Change in shares held, QoQ +2.3% +6.3% +1.8%
Institutions buying 546 251 503
Institutions selling 343 122 243
Buyers to sellers 1.59 2.06 2.07

Return Correlation

Daily returns, last 12 months

1.00 means two stocks move in lockstep, 0 that they move independently. Pairs below about 0.5 diversify each other.

ATONJRNI
ATO 1.00 0.65 0.67
NJR 0.65 1.00 0.56
NI 0.67 0.56 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, ATO, NJR and NI?

Atmos Energy (ATO) is the largest by market capitalisation: Atmos Energy (ATO) $28.95B, New Jersey Resources (NJR) $5.38B, Nisource (NI) $21.36B.

Which stock is cheaper, ATO, NJR and NI?

New Jersey Resources (NJR) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Atmos Energy (ATO) 20.6x, New Jersey Resources (NJR) 14.7x, Nisource (NI) 22.6x). On next year's consensus earnings, New Jersey Resources (NJR) is cheapest (Atmos Energy (ATO) 20.8x, New Jersey Resources (NJR) 14.4x, Nisource (NI) 20.5x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Nisource (NI) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Atmos Energy (ATO) +6.5%, New Jersey Resources (NJR) +6.4%, Nisource (NI) +84.9%.

Which company is more profitable?

Atmos Energy (ATO) has the highest net margin (Atmos Energy (ATO) 28.5%, New Jersey Resources (NJR) 16.4%, Nisource (NI) 8.1%). On return on invested capital, New Jersey Resources (NJR) leads (Atmos Energy (ATO) 5.9%, New Jersey Resources (NJR) 7.2%, Nisource (NI) 5.8%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year New Jersey Resources (NJR) returned the most: Atmos Energy (ATO) -0.4%, New Jersey Resources (NJR) +19.9%, Nisource (NI) +5.4%. Over five years, Atmos Energy (ATO) compounded fastest (Atmos Energy (ATO) +13.2%/yr, New Jersey Resources (NJR) +7.0%/yr, Nisource (NI) +12.7%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

New Jersey Resources (NJR) has the highest dividend yield: Atmos Energy (ATO) 0.02%, New Jersey Resources (NJR) 0.04%, Nisource (NI) 0.03%.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Atmos Energy (ATO) has been the steadiest (Atmos Energy (ATO) 16.1%, New Jersey Resources (NJR) 18.5%, Nisource (NI) 18.1%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, ATO, NJR and NI?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, New Jersey Resources (NJR) leads on 6. Business Quant does not give investment advice; use the comparison as a starting point for your own research.

Data from SEC filings, exchange prices and consensus estimates, via Business Quant. Percentile scores compare each company with its own peer group, so two companies' scores are each relative to different peers unless you rank against the whole market. Price returns exclude dividends. Nothing on this page is investment advice.