It has been about a month since the last earnings report for Atmos Energy (ATO). Shares have added about 2.1% in that time frame, outperforming the S&P 500.
Will the recent positive trend continue leading up to its next earnings release, or is Atmos due for a pullback? Before we dive into how investors and analysts have reacted as of late, let's take a quick look at its most recent earnings report in order to get a better handle on the important drivers.
Atmos Energy Q1 Earnings Beat Estimates, Revenues Rise Y/Y
Atmos Energy posted first-quarter fiscal 2025 earnings of $2.23 per share, which surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.20 by 1.4%. The bottom line also improved 7.2% from the year-ago quarter’s $2.08.
Total revenues of $1.18 billion lagged the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.40 billion by 16.2%. However, the top line increased 1.7% from the year-ago quarter’s reported number of $1.16 billion.
Distribution: Revenues totaled $1.109 billion, highlighting a 0.4% increase from $1.105 billion in the year-ago quarter.
Pipeline and Storage: Revenues amounted to $255.4 million, reflecting a 20.9% increase from $211.2 million reported in the year-ago quarter.
Operation and maintenance expenses amounted to $207 million, up 24.5% from the year-ago quarter’s level.
Operating income totaled $459.5 million, up 15.1% from the year-ago quarter’s figure.
Atmos Energy incurred interest expenses of $52.9 million, up 2% from the year-earlier quarter’s level.
The company reported 109.6 million cubic feet of consolidated distribution throughput for the quarter, down 11.1% from the year-ago quarter’s reported actuals.
As of Dec. 31, 2024, Atmos Energy reported a strong balance sheet with available liquidity of approximately $5.2 billion.
As of Dec. 31, 2024, ATO had cash and cash equivalents of $584.5 million compared with $307.3 million as of Sept. 30, 2024.
Net cash flow provided by operating activities in the first three months of fiscal 2025 was $282 million compared with $245.3 million in the year-ago period.
In the first three months of fiscal 2025, the company invested nearly $891.2 million, with 86% of the amount allocated for improving the safety and reliability of its distribution and transportation systems.
Atmos Energy reaffirmed its fiscal 2025 earnings in the range of $7.05-$7.25 per share. The Zacks Consensus Estimate is pegged at $7.18 per share, higher than the midpoint of the company’s guided range.
Total net income is expected to be in the range of $1.12-$1.15 billion.
ATO also anticipates its fiscal 2025 capital expenditure to be $3.7 billion.
Fresh estimates followed a flat path over the past two months.
Currently, Atmos has a poor Growth Score of F, however its Momentum Score is doing a bit better with a D. Following the exact same course, the stock was allocated a grade of D on the value side, putting it in the bottom 40% for this investment strategy.
Overall, the stock has an aggregate VGM Score of F. If you aren't focused on one strategy, this score is the one you should be interested in.
Atmos has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). We expect an above average return from the stock in the next few months.
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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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