Critical Survey: Atlas Energy Solutions (NYSE:AESI) versus National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG)

Atlas Energy Solutions (NYSE:AESI) and National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) are both energy companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, institutional ownership, valuation, earnings, analyst recommendations, profitability and risk.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings for Atlas Energy Solutions and National Fuel Gas, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Atlas Energy Solutions	0	6	5	0	2.45
National Fuel Gas	1	1	1	1	2.50

Atlas Energy Solutions currently has a consensus target price of $19.28, indicating a potential upside of 33.87%. National Fuel Gas has a consensus target price of $88.00, indicating a potential upside of 6.27%. Given Atlas Energy Solutions’ higher possible upside, research analysts clearly believe Atlas Energy Solutions is more favorable than National Fuel Gas.

Profitability

This table compares Atlas Energy Solutions and National Fuel Gas’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Atlas Energy Solutions	2.96%	4.99%	2.70%
National Fuel Gas	1.91%	18.55%	6.34%

Insider and Institutional Ownership

34.6% of Atlas Energy Solutions shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 74.0% of National Fuel Gas shares are owned by institutional investors. 16.0% of Atlas Energy Solutions shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.4% of National Fuel Gas shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Earnings & Valuation

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

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Atlas Energy Solutions	$1.06 billion	1.69	$59.94 million	$0.31	46.45
National Fuel Gas	$1.94 billion	3.85	$77.51 million	$0.43	192.58

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

Volatility and Risk

Atlas Energy Solutions has a beta of 1.2, indicating that its stock price is 20% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, National Fuel Gas has a beta of 0.62, indicating that its stock price is 38% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

Atlas Energy Solutions pays an annual dividend of $1.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 6.9%. National Fuel Gas pays an annual dividend of $2.14 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.6%. Atlas Energy Solutions pays out 322.6% 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 pays out 497.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Atlas Energy Solutions has increased its dividend for 2 consecutive years and National Fuel Gas has increased its dividend for 55 consecutive years. Atlas Energy Solutions is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Summary

National Fuel Gas beats Atlas Energy Solutions on 11 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Atlas Energy Solutions

Atlas Energy Solutions Inc. engages in the production, processing, and sale of mesh and sand that are used as a proppant during the well completion process in the Permian Basin of Texas and New Mexico. The company provides transportation and logistics, storage solutions, and contract labor services. It sells its products and services to oil and natural gas exploration and production companies, and oilfield services companies. Atlas Energy Solutions Inc. was founded in 2017 and is headquartered in Austin, Texas.

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.