ATO vs SO vs SRE Stock Comparison

Atmos Energy, Southern and Sempra 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
9 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
SRE Sempra
$84.09 +6.4% 1M -8.4% 1Y
Market cap
$55.09B
P/E
24.4x
Revenue (TTM)
$13.55B
Div. yield
–
Regulated Electric Utilities Utilities
1 win

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

Atmos Energy leads on 9 of the 12 questions below (Atmos Energy 9, Southern 2, Sempra 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionATOSOSRELeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $28.85B $105.25B $55.09B SO
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 20.6x 22.6x 24.4x ATO
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 21.0x 19.2x 15.9x SRE
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +6.5% +6.4% +1.6% ATO
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 28.5% 15.4% 16.7% ATO
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 5.9% 5.1% 1.8% ATO
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 3.7x 5.3x 7.6x 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% -8.4% ATO
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +12.9%/yr +8.1%/yr +5.1%/yr ATO
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 16.1% 17.9% 20.3% ATO
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 64/100 43/100 26/100 ATO

Percentile Scorecard

ATOSOSRE

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

AxisATOSOSRE
Valuation 17 #56 of 67 33 #45 of 67 11 #60 of 67
Growth 67 #22 of 65 55 #30 of 65 16 #55 of 65
Profitability 88 #9 of 65 75 #17 of 65 13 #57 of 65
Financial Health 94 #5 of 66 37 #42 of 66 48 #35 of 66
Shareholder Returns 53 #32 of 67 15 #57 of 67 46 #37 of 67
Overall 64 43 26
  • ATO ranked among 67 companies in Regulated Utilities
  • SO ranked among 67 companies in Regulated Utilities
  • SRE ranked among 67 companies in Regulated Utilities

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodATOSOSRESPY
1 month +10.2%+11.3%+6.4% -1.0%
3 months -3.9%-4.5%-9.6% +2.9%
6 months -7.1%-0.6%-9.8% +6.4%
Year to date +2.7%+6.5%-4.8% +11.4%
1 year -2.0%-3.4%-8.4% +13.1%
3 years +58.5%+39.8%+20.5% +79.4%
3 years, per year +16.6%+11.8%+6.4% +21.5%
5 years +83.1%+47.6%+28.2% +67.7%
5 years, per year +12.9%+8.1%+5.1% +10.9%
10 years +140.1%+83.8%+60.4% +255.2%
10 years, per year +9.2%+6.3%+4.8% +13.5%

Risk

MeasureATOSOSRESPY
Volatility, 1Y 16.1%17.9%20.3% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 16.7%17.5%22.0% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y -0.20-0.230.08 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.12-0.19-0.41 1.03
Max drawdown, 5Y -20.0%-23.3%-32.7% -25.4%
From 52-week high -10.4%-6.3%-15.7% -2.5%
52-week high $192.29$99.11$99.75 $779.14
52-week low $156.25$82.35$76.89 $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.

MultipleATOSOSRE
P/E now vs peer median 20.7xmedian 20.8x 22.7xmedian 20.8x 24.3xmedian 20.8x
P/S now vs peer median 5.9xmedian 2.8x 3.5xmedian 2.8x 4.1xmedian 2.8x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 15.0xmedian 13.1x 13.1xmedian 13.1x 18.9xmedian 13.1x
P/FCF now vs peer median -14.4xmedian 36.7x -32.7xmedian 36.7x -10.5xmedian 36.7x
P/B now vs peer median 1.9xmedian 1.7x 2.5xmedian 1.7x 1.4xmedian 1.7x
PEG now vs peer median 1.59median 2.27 0.71median 2.27 -5.52median 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 monthsATOSOSRE
Revenue $4.92B $30.18B $13.55B
Gross profit $3.95B $25.14B $11.94B
Operating income $1.82B $7.31B $2.43B
Net income $1.40B $4.66B $2.73B
Free cash flow -$2.02B -$3.27B -$5.24B
EPS (diluted) $8.28 $4.08 $3.45
Cash & equivalents $525.81M $2.98B $48.00M
Total debt $10.25B $295.00B $140.81B
Shares (diluted) 169.37M 1.14B 655.95M
Enterprise value $27.62B $96.30B $54.21B

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
MetricATOSOSRE
P/E 20.7x 22.7x 24.3x
P/FCF -14.4x -32.7x -10.5x
P/Operating cash flow 14.4x 10.0x 10.2x
P/S 5.9x 3.5x 4.1x
P/B 1.9x 2.5x 1.4x
P/Tangible book 1.9x 2.5x 1.4x
EV/EBITDA 15.0x 13.1x 18.9x
EV/EBIT 21.3x 24.6x 39.2x
EV/Revenue 7.9x 5.9x 6.8x
EV/FCF -19.2x -54.9x -17.5x
EV/Operating cash flow 19.2x 16.8x 16.9x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 1.59 0.71 -5.52

Growth

14 metrics
MetricATOSOSRE
Revenue growth (1Y) 6.5% 6.4% 1.6%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 3.7% 3.0% -7.2%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 10.3% 5.3% 2.5%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 12.6% 1.6% 2.1%
Operating income growth (1Y) 19.3% 1.5% -2.4%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 21.3% 14.7% 45.4%
Net income growth (1Y) 21.1% 8.7% -14.4%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 18.7% 16.2% -1.8%
EPS growth (1Y) 15.3% 5.6% -15.6%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 13.0% 31.9% -4.4%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) -0.6% 15.5% 16.4%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) -14.8% 23.7% 29.1%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -47.1% -152.2% -19.9%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -84.9% -3.1% -3.3%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricATOSOSRE
Gross margin 80.3% 83.3% 88.1%
EBITDA margin 52.8% 45.2% 35.7%
Operating margin 37.0% 24.2% 17.9%
Pretax margin 35.6% 17.4% 11.6%
Net margin 28.5% 15.4% 16.7%
FCF margin -41.1% -10.8% -38.7%
Operating cash flow margin 41.0% 35.3% 40.0%
Return on equity 9.3% 9.2% 6.9%
Return on assets 4.5% 2.9% 2.4%
Return on invested capital 5.9% 5.1% 1.8%
Return on capital employed 6.2% 5.1% 2.5%
Asset turnover 0.2x 0.2x 0.1x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.4x 2.3x 2.0x
Stock comp / revenue – – –

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricATOSOSRE
Debt / assets 32.5% 46.6% 31.8%
Debt / equity 0.7x 1.8x 0.9x
Net debt / EBITDA 3.7x 5.3x 7.6x
Debt / FCF -5.1x -23.1x -7.0x
Liabilities / assets 51.7% 73.9% 65.3%
Equity / assets 48.3% 26.1% 34.7%
Interest coverage 12.8x 2.3x 1.5x
Current ratio 0.8x 0.8x 1.6x
Quick ratio 0.5x 0.4x 0.1x
Cash ratio 0.3x 0.2x 0.0x
Altman Z-score 1.65 – 0.99

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricATOSOSRE
Dividend yield 2.3% 3.2% 3.1%
Net buyback yield -3.7% – –
Shareholder yield -1.4% 3.2% 3.1%
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.

ConsensusATOSOSRE
Forward P/E 21.0xFY2026 19.2xFY2026 15.9xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $8.20FY2026 $4.84FY2026 $5.29FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +9.9%FY2026 +12.6%FY2026 +12.8%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +6.0% -2.9% +8.9%
Revenue, next fiscal year $5.38BFY2026 $31.53BFY2026 $14.05BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +14.0%FY2026 +6.7%FY2026 +2.6%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +7.7% +8.8% -11.0%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersATOSOSRE
Held by institutions 96.4% 72.5% 92.1%
Institutions holding 1,044 2,363 1,287
Change in shares held, QoQ +2.3% +5.7% +2.2%
Institutions buying 546 1,248 629
Institutions selling 342 724 433
Buyers to sellers 1.60 1.72 1.45

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.

ATOSOSRE
ATO 1.00 0.71 0.63
SO 0.71 1.00 0.61
SRE 0.63 0.61 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, ATO, SO and SRE?

Southern (SO) is the largest by market capitalisation: Atmos Energy (ATO) $28.85B, Southern (SO) $105.25B, Sempra (SRE) $55.09B.

Which stock is cheaper, ATO, SO and SRE?

Atmos Energy (ATO) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Atmos Energy (ATO) 20.6x, Southern (SO) 22.6x, Sempra (SRE) 24.4x). On next year's consensus earnings, Sempra (SRE) is cheapest (Atmos Energy (ATO) 21.0x, Southern (SO) 19.2x, Sempra (SRE) 15.9x). 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%, Sempra (SRE) +1.6%.

Which company is more profitable?

Atmos Energy (ATO) has the highest net margin (Atmos Energy (ATO) 28.5%, Southern (SO) 15.4%, Sempra (SRE) 16.7%). On return on invested capital, Atmos Energy (ATO) leads (Atmos Energy (ATO) 5.9%, Southern (SO) 5.1%, Sempra (SRE) 1.8%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Atmos Energy (ATO) returned the most: Atmos Energy (ATO) -2.0%, Southern (SO) -3.4%, Sempra (SRE) -8.4%. Over five years, Atmos Energy (ATO) compounded fastest (Atmos Energy (ATO) +12.9%/yr, Southern (SO) +8.1%/yr, Sempra (SRE) +5.1%/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%, Sempra (SRE) 0.00%. Sempra (SRE) 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%, Sempra (SRE) 20.3%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

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

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 9. 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.