ATO vs SO vs NGG Stock Comparison

Atmos Energy, Southern and National Grid Prices as of Oct 23, 2026 Peers: Industry group
ATO Atmos Energy Corp
$172.21 +10.2% 1M -2.0% 1Y
Market cap
$28.85B
P/E
20.6x
Revenue (TTM)
$4.92B
Div. yield
0.02%
Regulated Gas Utilities Utilities
6 wins
SO Southern Co
$92.89 +11.3% 1M -3.4% 1Y
Market cap
$105.25B
P/E
22.6x
Revenue (TTM)
$30.18B
Div. yield
0.03%
Regulated Electric Utilities Utilities
2 wins
NGG National Grid Plc
$81.87 +8.8% 1M +6.7% 1Y
Market cap
$80.86B
P/E
18.6x
Revenue (TTM)
—
Div. yield
–
Regulated Electric Utilities Utilities
4 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

Atmos Energy leads on 6 of the 12 questions below (Atmos Energy 6, National Grid 4, Southern 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionATOSONGGLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $28.85B $105.25B $80.86B SO
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 20.6x 22.6x 18.6x NGG
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 21.0x 19.2x 14.0x NGG
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +6.5% +6.4% — ATO
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 28.5% 15.4% — ATO
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 5.9% 5.1% — ATO
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 3.7x 5.3x — ATO
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.02% 0.03% 0.00% SO
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -2.0% -3.4% +6.7% NGG
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +12.9%/yr +8.1%/yr +5.4%/yr ATO
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 16.1% 17.9% 22.4% ATO
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 64/100 43/100 73/100 NGG

Percentile Scorecard

ATOSONGG

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

AxisATOSONGG
Valuation 17 #56 of 67 33 #45 of 67 52 #33 of 67
Growth 67 #22 of 65 55 #30 of 65 –
Profitability 88 #9 of 65 75 #17 of 65 –
Financial Health 94 #5 of 66 37 #42 of 66 79 #15 of 66
Shareholder Returns 53 #32 of 67 15 #57 of 67 89 #8 of 67
Overall 64 43 73
  • ATO ranked among 67 companies in Regulated Utilities
  • SO ranked among 67 companies in Regulated Utilities
  • NGG ranked among 67 companies in Regulated Utilities

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodATOSONGGSPY
1 month +10.2%+11.3%+8.8% -1.0%
3 months -3.9%-4.5%-0.5% +2.9%
6 months -7.1%-0.6%-6.3% +6.4%
Year to date +2.7%+6.5%+5.8% +11.4%
1 year -2.0%-3.4%+6.7% +13.1%
3 years +58.5%+39.8%+37.0% +79.4%
3 years, per year +16.6%+11.8%+11.1% +21.5%
5 years +83.1%+47.6%+30.3% +67.7%
5 years, per year +12.9%+8.1%+5.4% +10.9%
10 years +140.1%+83.8%+14.7% +255.2%
10 years, per year +9.2%+6.3%+1.4% +13.5%

Risk

MeasureATOSONGGSPY
Volatility, 1Y 16.1%17.9%22.4% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 16.7%17.5%24.3% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y -0.20-0.230.31 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.12-0.190.30 1.03
Max drawdown, 5Y -20.0%-23.3%-40.9% -25.4%
From 52-week high -10.4%-6.3%-12.8% -2.5%
52-week high $192.29$99.11$93.93 $779.14
52-week low $156.25$82.35$73.54 $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.

MultipleATOSONGG
P/E now vs peer median 20.7xmedian 20.8x 22.7xmedian 20.8x 18.6xmedian 20.8x
P/S now vs peer median 5.9xmedian 2.8x 3.5xmedian 2.8x 3.6xmedian 2.8x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 15.0xmedian 13.1x 13.1xmedian 13.1x —median 13.1x
P/FCF now vs peer median -14.4xmedian 36.7x -32.7xmedian 36.7x -29.4xmedian 36.7x
P/B now vs peer median 1.9xmedian 1.7x 2.5xmedian 1.7x 1.6xmedian 1.7x
PEG now vs peer median 1.59median 2.27 0.71median 2.27 —median 2.27

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 monthsATOSONGG
Revenue $4.92B $30.18B –
Gross profit $3.95B $25.14B –
Operating income $1.82B $7.31B –
Net income $1.40B $4.66B –
Free cash flow -$2.02B -$3.27B –
EPS (diluted) $8.28 $4.08 –
Cash & equivalents $525.81M $2.98B $493.98M
Total debt $10.25B $295.00B $61.59B
Shares (diluted) 169.37M 1.14B 994.20M
Enterprise value $27.62B $96.30B $53.16B

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
MetricATOSONGG
P/E 20.7x 22.7x 18.6x
P/FCF -14.4x -32.7x -29.4x
P/Operating cash flow 14.4x 10.0x –
P/S 5.9x 3.5x 3.6x
P/B 1.9x 2.5x 1.6x
P/Tangible book 1.9x 2.5x 1.8x
EV/EBITDA 15.0x 13.1x –
EV/EBIT 21.3x 24.6x –
EV/Revenue 7.9x 5.9x –
EV/FCF -19.2x -54.9x –
EV/Operating cash flow 19.2x 16.8x –
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 1.59 0.71 –

Growth

14 metrics
MetricATOSONGG
Revenue growth (1Y) 6.5% 6.4% –
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 3.7% 3.0% –
Gross profit growth (1Y) 10.3% 5.3% –
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 12.6% 1.6% –
Operating income growth (1Y) 19.3% 1.5% –
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 21.3% 14.7% –
Net income growth (1Y) 21.1% 8.7% –
Net income CAGR (3Y) 18.7% 16.2% –
EPS growth (1Y) 15.3% 5.6% –
EPS CAGR (3Y) 13.0% 31.9% –
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) -0.6% 15.5% –
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) -14.8% 23.7% –
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -47.1% -152.2% –
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -84.9% -3.1% –

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricATOSONGG
Gross margin 80.3% 83.3% –
EBITDA margin 52.8% 45.2% –
Operating margin 37.0% 24.2% –
Pretax margin 35.6% 17.4% –
Net margin 28.5% 15.4% –
FCF margin -41.1% -10.8% –
Operating cash flow margin 41.0% 35.3% –
Return on equity 9.3% 9.2% –
Return on assets 4.5% 2.9% –
Return on invested capital 5.9% 5.1% –
Return on capital employed 6.2% 5.1% –
Asset turnover 0.2x 0.2x –
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.4x 2.3x –
Stock comp / revenue – – –

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricATOSONGG
Debt / assets 32.5% 46.6% 43.2%
Debt / equity 0.7x 1.8x 1.2x
Net debt / EBITDA 3.7x 5.3x –
Debt / FCF -5.1x -23.1x –
Liabilities / assets 51.7% 73.9% 63.7%
Equity / assets 48.3% 26.1% 36.3%
Interest coverage 12.8x 2.3x –
Current ratio 0.8x 0.8x 0.8x
Quick ratio 0.5x 0.4x 0.7x
Cash ratio 0.3x 0.2x 0.3x
Altman Z-score 1.65 – –

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricATOSONGG
Dividend yield 2.3% 3.2% 4.0%
Net buyback yield -3.7% – –
Shareholder yield -1.4% 3.2% 4.0%
Payout ratio (earnings) 45.1% 66.6% –
Payout ratio (FCF) -31.3% -94.8% –
Dividend growth (1Y) 17.4% 4.7% –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) 15.0% 1.2% –

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.

ConsensusATOSONGG
Forward P/E 21.0xFY2026 19.2xFY2026 14.0xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $8.20FY2026 $4.84FY2026 $5.84FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +9.9%FY2026 +12.6%FY2026 +11.0%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +6.0% -2.9% +9.2%
Revenue, next fiscal year $5.38BFY2026 $31.53BFY2026 $25.23BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +14.0%FY2026 +6.7%FY2026 +5.8%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +7.7% +8.8% +8.0%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersATOSONGG
Held by institutions 96.4% 72.5% 6.2%
Institutions holding 1,044 2,363 617
Change in shares held, QoQ +2.3% +5.7% +6.6%
Institutions buying 546 1,248 352
Institutions selling 342 724 159
Buyers to sellers 1.60 1.72 2.21

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.

ATOSONGG
ATO 1.00 0.71 0.53
SO 0.71 1.00 0.51
NGG 0.53 0.51 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, ATO, SO and NGG?

Southern (SO) is the largest by market capitalisation: Atmos Energy (ATO) $28.85B, Southern (SO) $105.25B, National Grid (NGG) $80.86B.

Which stock is cheaper, ATO, SO and NGG?

National Grid (NGG) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Atmos Energy (ATO) 20.6x, Southern (SO) 22.6x, National Grid (NGG) 18.6x). On next year's consensus earnings, National Grid (NGG) is cheapest (Atmos Energy (ATO) 21.0x, Southern (SO) 19.2x, National Grid (NGG) 14.0x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Atmos Energy (ATO) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Atmos Energy (ATO) +6.5%, Southern (SO) +6.4%.

Which company is more profitable?

Atmos Energy (ATO) has the highest net margin (Atmos Energy (ATO) 28.5%, Southern (SO) 15.4%). On return on invested capital, Atmos Energy (ATO) leads (Atmos Energy (ATO) 5.9%, Southern (SO) 5.1%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year National Grid (NGG) returned the most: Atmos Energy (ATO) -2.0%, Southern (SO) -3.4%, National Grid (NGG) +6.7%. Over five years, Atmos Energy (ATO) compounded fastest (Atmos Energy (ATO) +12.9%/yr, Southern (SO) +8.1%/yr, National Grid (NGG) +5.4%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Southern (SO) has the highest dividend yield: Atmos Energy (ATO) 0.02%, Southern (SO) 0.03%, National Grid (NGG) 0.00%. National Grid (NGG) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Atmos Energy (ATO) has been the steadiest (Atmos Energy (ATO) 16.1%, Southern (SO) 17.9%, National Grid (NGG) 22.4%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, ATO, SO and NGG?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Atmos Energy (ATO) 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.