Company Reports

We are reaffirming our $113 per share fair value estimate after Atmos reported first-quarter fiscal 2024 earnings per share of $2.08, up 9% compared with the same year-ago period. Atmos now trades in line with our fair value estimate as of Feb. 7 after trading at a 14% premium to our fair value estimate last July. Our narrow moat and stable moat trend remain unchanged.

Favorable regulation and large infrastructure investments have driven strong earnings growth and steady dividend increases for Atmos Energy.

Favorable regulation and large infrastructure investments have driven strong earnings growth and steady dividend increases for Atmos Energy.

We are reaffirming our $109 fair value estimate for Atmos Energy after the company reported fiscal 2023 earnings per share of $6.10, compared with $5.60 in the year-ago period. The shares are down 11% since hitting their high in July and now trade in line with our fair value estimate as of Nov. 8. Our narrow moat rating is unchanged.

We are reaffirming our fair value estimates and economic moat ratings for all U.S. utilities after the sector fell nearly 5% on Monday. We think the sector's 11% drop since last week offers a rare opportunity for investors to buy high-quality utilities at very attractive prices.

We are reaffirming our $109 per share fair value estimate for Atmos after it announced third-quarter fiscal-year earnings of $0.94 per share, compared with $0.92 in the same year-ago period. The company reaffirmed its 2023 full-year operating earnings guidance of $6.00 to $6.10 per share, which is consistent with our estimates. Our narrow moat remains unchanged.

Favorable regulation and large infrastructure investments have driven strong earnings growth and steady dividend increases for Atmos Energy.

We are reaffirming our $106 per share fair value estimate after Atmos Energy reported second-quarter fiscal 2023 earnings per share of $2.48, compared with $2.37 in the same year-ago period. The company narrowed its 2023 full-year operating EPS guidance to $6.00 to $6.10, up from $5.90 to $6.10. The narrowed range is consistent with our current $6.03 EPS estimate.

We are reaffirming our $106 per share fair value estimate after Atmos reported first-quarter fiscal 2023 earnings of $1.91 per share, compared with $1.86 in the same year-ago period. Our narrow moat and stable moat trend remain unchanged.

Favorable rate regulation and large infrastructure investment opportunities have driven strong earnings growth and steady dividend increases for Atmos Energy. We expect Atmos to invest $15 billion during the next five years, in line with management's expectations. Over 85% of the total investment is for safety and reliability, replacing bare steel, cast iron, and vintage plastic pipes. We expect this investment to receive regulatory support and continue beyond our five-year forecast.

We are reaffirming our $104 per share fair value estimate after Atmos reported full-year operating earnings of $5.60 per share, compared with $5.12 in the same year-ago period, at the high end of management's $5.50 to $5.60 earnings guidance range. Full-year results were in line with our estimate.

Our initial analysis of the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act that President Joe Biden plans to sign on Aug. 16 has led us to reaffirm or make slight increases to our fair value estimates for U.S. utilities. We are reaffirming our moat and moat trend ratings.

Favorable rate regulation and large infrastructure investment opportunities have driven strong earnings growth and steady dividend increases for Atmos Energy. We expect Atmos to invest $14 billion during the next five years, the high end of management's $13 billion-$14 billion target. Over 85% of the total investment is for safety and reliability, replacing bare steel, cast iron, and vintage plastic pipes. We expect this investment to receive regulatory support and continue beyond our five-year forecast.

We are reaffirming our $102 fair value estimate for Atmos Energy after the company reported fiscal third-quarter operating earnings per share of $0.92 compared with $0.78 in the year-ago period. Fiscal year-to-date EPS of $5.12 puts Atmos on track to meet management's full-year EPS guidance of $5.50-$5.60, which the company reaffirmed.

We are reaffirming our fair value estimates and moat ratings for our U.S. utility coverage after the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported 9.1% core inflation on July 14. We continue consider inflation to be the largest threat to utilities' long-term returns and ability to pay robust, growing dividends.

We are reaffirming our fair value estimates and moat ratings for the U.S. utilities we cover after the median utility in our coverage now trades in line with our fair value estimate, after the Morningstar US Utilities Sector Index declined 12% since Wednesday, June 8.

We are reaffirming our fair value estimates and moat ratings for the U.S. utilities we cover after the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' Consumer Price Index, or CPI, reported 8.6% inflation for May. We continue to consider inflation to be the largest threat to utilities' long-term returns and ability to pay robust, growing dividends.

Favorable rate regulation and large infrastructure investment opportunities have driven strong earnings growth and steady dividend increases for Atmos Energy. We expect Atmos to invest $13.8 billion during the next five years, in line with management's $13 billion-$14 billion target. Over 85% of the total investment is for safety and reliability, replacing bare steel, cast iron, and vintage plastic pipes. We expect this investment to receive regulatory support and continue beyond our five-year forecast.

We are reaffirming our $99 fair value estimate for Atmos Energy after the company reported fiscal second-quarter operating earnings per share of $2.37 compared with $2.30 in the year-ago period. Management narrowed its 2022 operating earnings guidance range to $5.50-$5.60 from $5.40-$5.60. We don't expect to significantly alter our $5.52 EPS forecast or fair value estimate. Our 7.5% earnings growth outlook is at the high end of management's 6%-8% guidance range. Our narrow moat and stable moat trend are unchanged.

We are reaffirming our fair value estimates and moat ratings for the U.S. utilities we cover ahead of the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' Consumer Price Index report March 10. We consider inflation to be the largest threat to utilities' long-term returns and ability to pay robust, growing dividends.