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ATO or NI or NJR
Which Stock Would AI Choose? Atmos Energy Corporation (ATO) vs. NiSource Inc. (NI) vs. New Jersey Resources Corporation (NJR) Stock Comparison
Key Takeaways
- All three stocks operate in the natural gas distribution sector, offering defensive qualities amid market volatility, with year-to-date gains ranging from 13% for ATO to 22% for NJR.
- NJR stands out with the highest dividend yield at 3.39% and lowest price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 17.34, appealing to income-focused investors.
- NI leads one-year performance at 27%, bolstered by data center power deals with tech giants, signaling growth potential.
- ATO, the largest by market cap at $31B, shows steady momentum near its 52-week high, with strong earnings anticipation.
- Recent market activity reflects sector resilience, with all stocks trading near 52-week highs amid upcoming earnings reports.
Introduction
This stock comparison examines ATO, NI, and NJR, three leading natural gas utility companies. These firms provide essential distribution services across the U.S., benefiting from regulated operations and stable demand. Investors seeking defensive plays with dividends, or traders eyeing relative performance in the utilities sector, will find value here. Amid recent market shifts toward infrastructure and energy reliability, understanding their business models, valuations, and momentum offers insights into sector positioning and stock comparison opportunities.
ATO Overview and Recent Performance
Atmos Energy Corporation (ATO) is a major natural gas distributor serving over three million customers primarily in Texas, the Midwest, and the South. With a market capitalization of approximately $31 billion, it focuses on safe, reliable delivery and infrastructure expansion. In recent market activity, ATO has exhibited positive momentum, rising about 14% over the past 90 days and trading near its 52-week high of $192.51. Year-to-date gains stand at 13%, driven by strong earnings expectations and analyst upgrades, including raised price targets around $189. Sentiment has been supported by robust quarterly revenue of $1.34 billion and profitability, amid broader utility sector strength.
NI Overview and Recent Performance
NiSource Inc. (NI) operates regulated natural gas distribution and transmission across seven states in the Midwest and Northeast, serving 3.3 million customers. Its $23 billion market cap underscores its scale in energy infrastructure. Recent weeks have seen NI deliver solid gains, with year-to-date returns of 17% and one-year performance exceeding 26%, positioning it near its 52-week high. Key influences include new data center power agreements with companies like Alphabet and Amazon, enhancing long-term growth prospects, alongside anticipated Q1 earnings growth to $1.03 per share. These developments have lifted market sentiment in recent market activity.
NJR Overview and Recent Performance
New Jersey Resources Corporation (NJR) delivers natural gas to over 500,000 homes and businesses in New Jersey, complemented by clean energy and storage operations. As the smallest at $5.6 billion market cap, it emphasizes regulated utility growth. In recent market activity, NJR has outperformed peers year-to-date with 22% gains, supported by strong fiscal Q1 results, including raised full-year guidance and net financial earnings per share of $1.78 in the prior quarter. Trading near its 52-week high of $57.70, sentiment reflects robust segment performance and infrastructure investments.
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Head-to-Head Comparison
ATO, NI, and NJR share regulated natural gas distribution models, providing stability through rate-base growth and essential services. Growth drivers include infrastructure investments and rising demand from data centers, most pronounced for NI via tech partnerships. Recent momentum favors NJR on YTD basis, while NI excels over one year. Risk factors are similar—interest rate sensitivity due to debt loads (e.g., NI's 139% debt/equity)—but ATO's larger scale offers diversification. Valuation contrasts highlight NJR's lower P/E of 17 versus 25 for peers and superior 3.4% yield, trading at a discount despite higher ROE (14%). Market sentiment tilts toward all amid utilities' defensive appeal, with trade-offs in size versus yield.
Tickeron AI Verdict
Tickeron's AI currently leans toward NJR based on its compelling valuation (lowest P/E), highest dividend yield, superior YTD momentum, and recent guidance raise amid stable sector trends. While NI shows strong catalysts from data centers and ATO benefits from scale, NJR's relative positioning suggests higher probability of outperformance in the near term, subject to earnings outcomes and market dynamics.
Disclaimer
The information on this webpage is provided for general informational and educational purposes only and is not intended as investment advice, a recommendation to purchase or sell any security, or an offer or solicitation related to investments. It does not consider your personal financial situation, goals, or risk profile, and all investing carries inherent risks, including the possibility of losing your entire investment. For more details, please review our full disclaimer. Disclaimers and Limitations
Long-Term Analysis
It is best to consider a long-term outlook for a ticker by using Fundamental Analysis (FA) ratings. The rating of 1 to 100, where 1 is best and 100 is worst, is divided into thirds. The first third (a green rating of 1-33) indicates that the ticker is undervalued; the second third (a grey number between 34 and 66) means that the ticker is valued fairly; and the last third (red number of 67 to 100) reflects that the ticker is undervalued. We use an FA Score to show how many ratings show the ticker to be undervalued (green) or overvalued (red).
ATO’s FA Score shows that 1 FA rating(s) are green whileNI’s FA Score has 1 green FA rating(s), and NJR’s FA Score reflects 2 green FA rating(s).
- ATO’s FA Score: 1 green, 4 red.
- NI’s FA Score: 1 green, 4 red.
- NJR’s FA Score: 2 green, 3 red.
Short-Term Analysis
It is best to consider a short-term outlook for a ticker by using Technical Analysis (TA) indicators. We use Odds of Success as the percentage of outcomes which confirm successful trade signals in the past.
If the Odds of Success (the likelihood of the continuation of a trend) for each indicator are greater than 50%, then the generated signal is confirmed. A green percentage from 90% to 51% indicates that the ticker is in a bullish trend. A red percentage from 90% - 51% indicates that the ticker is in a bearish trend. All grey percentages are below 50% and are considered not to confirm the trend signal.
ATO’s TA Score shows that 4 TA indicator(s) are bullish while NI’s TA Score has 5 bullish TA indicator(s), and NJR’s TA Score reflects 5 bullish TA indicator(s).
- ATO’s TA Score: 4 bullish, 5 bearish.
- NI’s TA Score: 5 bullish, 5 bearish.
- NJR’s TA Score: 5 bullish, 5 bearish.
Price Growth
ATO (@Gas Distributors) experienced а +0.16% price change this week, while NI (@Gas Distributors) price change was +1.68% , and NJR (@Gas Distributors) price fluctuated +0.63% for the same time period.
The average weekly price growth across all stocks in the @Gas Distributors industry was -1.28%. For the same industry, the average monthly price growth was -3.67%, and the average quarterly price growth was +2.16%.
Reported Earning Dates
ATO is expected to report earnings on Aug 12, 2026.
NI is expected to report earnings on Aug 05, 2026.
NJR is expected to report earnings on Aug 12, 2026.
Industries' Descriptions
@Gas Distributors (-1.28% weekly)Gas distributors are involved in moving and selling gas – from wellheads or over-distribution systems operated by other firms – to residential and non-residential customers. These companies perform tasks such as the gathering and processing of gas, intrastate and interstate transport, and delivery to the customer. Some of the biggest gas distributing companies in the U.S. include Sempra Energy, Avangrid Inc and Atmos Energy Corporation.
| ATO | NI | NJR | |
| Capitalization | 28.1B | 22.4B | 5.5B |
| EBITDA | 2.59B | 3.14B | 760M |
| Gain YTD | 1.486 | 13.108 | 20.208 |
| P/E Ratio | 20.72 | 23.19 | 16.17 |
| Revenue | 4.88B | 6.82B | 2.18B |
| Total Cash | 126M | 71.9M | N/A |
| Total Debt | 9.63B | 16.8B | 3.77B |
ATO | NI | NJR | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
OUTLOOK RATING 1..100 | 58 | 80 | 84 | |
VALUATION overvalued / fair valued / undervalued 1..100 | 59 Fair valued | 75 Overvalued | 25 Undervalued | |
PROFIT vs RISK RATING 1..100 | 9 | 7 | 35 | |
SMR RATING 1..100 | 74 | 71 | 63 | |
PRICE GROWTH RATING 1..100 | 58 | 49 | 47 | |
P/E GROWTH RATING 1..100 | 54 | 43 | 19 | |
SEASONALITY SCORE 1..100 | 50 | 50 | 50 |
Tickeron ratings are formulated such that a rating of 1 designates the most successful stocks in a given industry, while a rating of 100 points to the least successful stocks for that industry.
NJR's Valuation (25) in the Gas Distributors industry is somewhat better than the same rating for ATO (59) and is somewhat better than the same rating for NI (75). This means that NJR's stock grew somewhat faster than ATO’s and somewhat faster than NI’s over the last 12 months.
NI's Profit vs Risk Rating (7) in the Gas Distributors industry is in the same range as ATO (9) and is in the same range as NJR (35). This means that NI's stock grew similarly to ATO’s and similarly to NJR’s over the last 12 months.
NJR's SMR Rating (63) in the Gas Distributors industry is in the same range as NI (71) and is in the same range as ATO (74). This means that NJR's stock grew similarly to NI’s and similarly to ATO’s over the last 12 months.
NJR's Price Growth Rating (47) in the Gas Distributors industry is in the same range as NI (49) and is in the same range as ATO (58). This means that NJR's stock grew similarly to NI’s and similarly to ATO’s over the last 12 months.
NJR's P/E Growth Rating (19) in the Gas Distributors industry is in the same range as NI (43) and is somewhat better than the same rating for ATO (54). This means that NJR's stock grew similarly to NI’s and somewhat faster than ATO’s over the last 12 months.
| ATO | NI | NJR | |
|---|---|---|---|
| RSI ODDS (%) | 1 day ago 50% | 1 day ago 80% | 1 day ago 44% |
| Stochastic ODDS (%) | 1 day ago 52% | 1 day ago 67% | 1 day ago 50% |
| Momentum ODDS (%) | 4 days ago 38% | 1 day ago 35% | 1 day ago 55% |
| MACD ODDS (%) | N/A | 1 day ago 59% | 1 day ago 53% |
| TrendWeek ODDS (%) | 1 day ago 49% | 1 day ago 55% | 1 day ago 51% |
| TrendMonth ODDS (%) | 1 day ago 35% | 1 day ago 31% | 1 day ago 45% |
| Advances ODDS (%) | 17 days ago 49% | 2 days ago 53% | 2 days ago 47% |
| Declines ODDS (%) | 3 days ago 40% | 11 days ago 31% | 11 days ago 45% |
| BollingerBands ODDS (%) | 1 day ago 52% | 1 day ago 61% | 1 day ago 48% |
| Aroon ODDS (%) | 1 day ago 28% | 1 day ago 23% | 4 days ago 51% |
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NI and
Correlation & Price change
A.I.dvisor indicates that over the last year, NI has been closely correlated with ATO. These tickers have moved in lockstep 66% of the time. This A.I.-generated data suggests there is a high statistical probability that if NI jumps, then ATO could also see price increases.
NJR and
Correlation & Price change
A.I.dvisor indicates that over the last year, NJR has been closely correlated with OGS. These tickers have moved in lockstep 73% of the time. This A.I.-generated data suggests there is a high statistical probability that if NJR jumps, then OGS could also see price increases.