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Atmos Energy (ATO) Q1 Earnings Miss, Revenues Beat Estimates

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Atmos Energy Corporation (ATO - Free Report) posted first-quarter fiscal 2023 earnings of $1.91 per share, which missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.93 by 1.04%. The bottom line improved by 2.7% from the year-ago quarter’s earnings of $1.86 per share.

Revenues

Total revenues of $1,484 million surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1,216 million by 22%. The top line increased 46.5% from the year-ago quarter’s reported figure of $1,012.8 million.

 

Atmos Energy Corporation Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise Atmos Energy Corporation Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

Atmos Energy Corporation price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Atmos Energy Corporation Quote

Segment Revenues

Distribution: Revenues from the segment in fiscal first-quarter 2023 were $1,440 million, a 48% hike from $972 million in the year-ago quarter.

Pipeline and Storage: Revenues from the segment were $187 million, a 14.8% increase from $163 million in the year-ago quarter.

Highlights of the Release

The purchased gas cost for fiscal first-quarter 2023 was $738.2 million, up 99% from the year-ago quarter. Operation and maintenance expenses were reported at $185 million, up 16.4% from the year-ago quarter.

The fiscal first-quarter 2023 results reported operating income of $321.2 million, up 16.4% from the year-ago quarter.

Atmos Energy incurred interest expenses of $36.8 million, up 85.2% from the year-ago quarter.

Financial Highlights

As of Dec 31, 2022, Atmos Energy reported a strong balance sheet, with available liquidity of approximately $3.4 billion.

As of Dec 31, 2022, ATO had cash and cash equivalents of $171.6 million compared with $51.6 million as of Sep 30, 2022. Net cash flow provided by operating activities in fiscal first-quarter 2023 was $188.9 million compared with $61.8 million in the year-ago quarter.

Capital expenditures were reported at $795.7 million for the first-quarter, with approximately 88% of the amount being related to system safety and reliability investments.

Guidance

Atmos Energy maintained its fiscal 2023 earnings guidance in the range of $5.90-$6.10 per share. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for fiscal 2023 earnings of $5.98 per share is lower than $6, the midpoint of the guided range.

Its capital expenditures are expected to be approximately $2.7 billion in fiscal 2023.

The company’s board of directors approves dividend hike of 8.8%, indicating annualized dividend of $2.96 per share, for fiscal 2023.

Zacks Rank

Atmos Energy currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Other Upcoming Releases

Duke Energy (DUK - Free Report) is scheduled to report fourth-quarter results on Feb 9, before market open. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for fourth-quarter earnings is pegged at $1.07 per share, indicating a year-over-year increase of 13.83%.

DUK’s long-term (three to five years) earnings growth is currently pegged at 5.46%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2023 earnings per share (EPS) is $5.64, implying a year-over-year increase of 6.8%.

ONE Gas (OGS - Free Report) is slated to report fourth-quarter results on Feb 22, after market close. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for fourth-quarter earnings is pegged at $1.2 per share, implying a year-over-year increase of 7.14%.

OGS’s long-term earnings growth is currently pegged at 5%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2023 EPS is $4.12, implying a year-over-year increase of 1.54%.

DTE Transfer (DTE - Free Report) is slated to report fourth-quarter results on Feb 23, before market open. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for fourth-quarter earnings is pegged at $1.21 per share, implying a year-over-year increase of 15.24%.

Its long-term earnings growth is currently pegged at 6%. DTE delivered an average earnings surprise of 2.85% in the last four quarters.

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