Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) Announces Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.23 EPS

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO - Get Free Report) posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday. The utilities provider reported $2.85 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.62 by $0.23, Briefing.com reports. The business had revenue of $1.65 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.54 billion. Atmos Energy had a return on equity of 8.62% and a net margin of 23.43%. Atmos Energy's quarterly revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.48 earnings per share. Atmos Energy updated its FY24 guidance to $6.70-6.80 EPS and its FY 2024 guidance to 6.700-6.800 EPS.

Atmos Energy Price Performance

ATO stock opened at $120.59 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.19 billion, a PE ratio of 19.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 0.66. The company's 50-day moving average is $116.51 and its 200-day moving average is $114.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 1.25. Atmos Energy has a 1 year low of $101.00 and a 1 year high of $125.28.

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 28th will be given a dividend of $0.805 per share. This represents a $3.22 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.67%. Atmos Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.11%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group assumed coverage on Atmos Energy in a report on Friday, April 12th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $124.00 price objective for the company. Barclays increased their price target on Atmos Energy from $115.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, March 14th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Atmos Energy from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, April 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $124.33.

Insider Transactions at Atmos Energy

In other news, Director Kim R. Cocklin sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.46, for a total transaction of $1,746,900.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 186,339 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $21,701,039.94. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.50% of the company's stock.

Atmos Energy Company Profile

Atmos Energy Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the regulated natural gas distribution, and pipeline and storage businesses in the United States. It operates through two segments, Distribution, and Pipeline and Storage. The Distribution segment is involved in the regulated natural gas distribution and related sales operations in eight states.