Head-To-Head Comparison: Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) vs. Snam (OTCMKTS:SNMRF)

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) and Snam (OTCMKTS:SNMRF) are both utilities companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, profitability, risk, valuation, dividends and earnings.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

90.2% of Atmos Energy shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 22.6% of Snam shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.5% of Atmos Energy shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares Atmos Energy and Snam’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Atmos Energy	24.65%	9.01%	4.35%
Snam	N/A	N/A	N/A

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings for Atmos Energy and Snam, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Atmos Energy	0	2	4	0	2.67
Snam	0	1	1	0	2.50

Atmos Energy presently has a consensus price target of $133.17, indicating a potential upside of 1.86%. Given Atmos Energy’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, research analysts plainly believe Atmos Energy is more favorable than Snam.

Dividends

Atmos Energy pays an annual dividend of $3.22 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.5%. Snam pays an annual dividend of $0.20 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.1%. Atmos Energy pays out 48.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Snam pays out 61.1% 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. Atmos Energy has increased its dividend for 40 consecutive years.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Atmos Energy and Snam’s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Atmos Energy	$4.09 billion	4.82	$885.86 million	$6.67	19.60
Snam	N/A	N/A	N/A	$0.33	14.95

Atmos Energy has higher revenue and earnings than Snam. Snam is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Atmos Energy, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

Atmos Energy beats Snam on 13 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Atmos Energy

Atmos Energy Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the regulated natural gas distribution, and pipeline and storage businesses in the United States. It operates through two segments, Distribution, and Pipeline and Storage. The Distribution segment is involved in the regulated natural gas distribution and related sales operations in eight states. This segment distributes natural gas to approximately 3.3 million residential, commercial, public authority, and industrial customers; and owned 73,689 miles of underground distribution and transmission mains. The Pipeline and Storage segment engages in the pipeline and storage operations. This segment transports natural gas for third parties and manages five underground storage facilities in Texas; provides ancillary services customary to the pipeline industry, including parking arrangements, lending, and inventory sales; and owned 5,645 miles of gas transmission lines. Atmos Energy Corporation was founded in 1906 and is headquartered in Dallas, Texas.

About Snam

Snam S.p.A., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the operation of natural gas transport and storage infrastructure. The company operates through Transportation, Storage, Regasification, Energy Transition, and other segments. It provides natural gas transportation and dispatching services; and owns and manages liquified natural gas (LNG) regasification plants. The company also offers natural gas storage services through an integrated group of infrastructure comprising deposits, wells, gas treatment and compression plants, and the operational dispatching systems; and operates storage concessions located in Lombardy, Emilia-Romagna, and Abruzzo. In addition, it provides energy efficiency solutions for companies, condominiums, tertiary, and public administration sectors; and invests, constructs, develops, and operates biogas and biomethane plants. Further, the company offers engineering support and consulting services in technical and specialized fields; and sells automotive compressed natural gas (CNG) compressors. It operates a natural gas transportation network of approximately 38,000 kilometers in Italy, Austria, Tunisia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, France, Greece, and the United Kingdom. The company was formerly known as Snam Rete Gas S.p.A. and changed its name to Snam S.p.A. in January 2012. Snam S.p.A. was founded in 1941 and is headquartered in San Donato Milanese, Italy.