Head-To-Head Contrast: National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) & Naturgy Energy Group (OTCMKTS:GASNY)

National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) and Naturgy Energy Group (OTCMKTS:GASNY) are both utilities companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, institutional ownership, profitability, valuation, analyst recommendations, risk and earnings.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent recommendations and price targets for National Fuel Gas and Naturgy Energy Group, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
National Fuel Gas	0	2	1	1	2.75
Naturgy Energy Group	0	0	3	1	3.25

National Fuel Gas presently has a consensus price target of $105.50, indicating a potential upside of 33.75%. Given National Fuel Gas’ higher probable upside, equities analysts plainly believe National Fuel Gas is more favorable than Naturgy Energy Group.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

74.0% of National Fuel Gas shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 0.0% of Naturgy Energy Group shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.3% of National Fuel Gas shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares National Fuel Gas and Naturgy Energy Group”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
National Fuel Gas	$2.28 billion	3.29	$518.50 million	$7.20	10.96
Naturgy Energy Group	N/A	N/A	N/A	$0.31	21.01

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

Profitability

This table compares National Fuel Gas and Naturgy Energy Group’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
National Fuel Gas	26.97%	19.04%	7.33%
Naturgy Energy Group	N/A	N/A	N/A

Dividends

National Fuel Gas pays an annual dividend of $2.22 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.8%. Naturgy Energy Group pays an annual dividend of $0.33 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.0%. National Fuel Gas pays out 30.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Naturgy Energy Group pays out 105.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. National Fuel Gas has increased its dividend for 55 consecutive years.

Summary

National Fuel Gas beats Naturgy Energy Group on 10 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About National Fuel Gas

National Fuel Gas Company operates as a diversified energy company. It operates through four segments: Exploration and Production, Pipeline and Storage, Gathering, and Utility. The Exploration and Production segment explores for, develops, and produces natural gas and oil. The Pipeline and Storage segment provides interstate natural gas transportation services through an integrated gas pipeline system in Pennsylvania and New York; and owns and operates underground natural gas storage fields. This segment also transports natural gas for National Fuel Gas Distribution Corporation, as well as for other utilities, industrial companies, and power producers in New York State. The Gathering segment builds, owns, and operates natural gas processing and pipeline gathering facilities in the Appalachian region, as well as provides gathering services to Seneca. The Utility segment sells natural gas or provides natural gas utility services to various customers in Buffalo, Niagara Falls, and Jamestown, New York; and Erie and Sharon, Pennsylvania. National Fuel Gas Company was incorporated in 1902 and is headquartered in Williamsville, New York.

About Naturgy Energy Group

Naturgy Energy Group, S.A., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the supply, liquefaction, regasification, transport, storage, distribution, and sale of natural gas. It operates through Distribution Networks and Energy Markets segments. The company engages in the regulated gas and electricity distribution; sale of liquefied natural gas and the maritime transport business; management conventional thermal generation facilities; and generation and sale of electricity through wind, mini-hydro, solar, and cogeneration sources, as well as provision of supply management services. It serves in Spain, Australia, the United States, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Mexico, Panama, the rest of Latin America, and internationally. The company was formerly known as Gas Natural SDG, S.A. and changed its name to Naturgy Energy Group, S.A. in June 2018. Naturgy Energy Group, S.A. was incorporated in 1843 and is based in Madrid, Spain.