Atmos Energy (ATO) To Report Q1 Earnings: What's In Store?

Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO) is set to report first-quarter fiscal 2020 results on Feb 4, after the market closes. This natural gas distribution company delivered a positive earnings surprise of 2.1% in the last reported quarter.

Let’s see how things have shaped up before the upcoming earnings announcement.

Factors at Play

New rates amounting to nearly $57 million implemented in Atmos Energy’s service territories are likely to have positively impacted fiscal first-quarter earnings. The company has been experiencing strong customer growth in the past 12 months in the Distribution segment. This is likely to positively impact the upcoming results.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings per share for first-quarter fiscal 2020 is currently pegged at $1.49, which reflects growth of 7.97% from the year-ago reported figure.

What Our Quantitative Model Predicts

Our proven model does not conclusively predict an earnings beat for Atmos Energy this time around. A stock needs to have both a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold) to surpass estimates. That is not the case here as you will see below. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Earnings ESP: The company’s Earnings ESP is 0.00%.

You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they’re reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.

Zacks Rank: Atmos Energy currently carries a Zacks Rank #2.

Stocks to Consider

Investor can consider the following players from the same sector that have the right combination of elements to post an earnings beat in the to-be-reported quarter.

Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR) is set to release first-quarter fiscal 2020 results on Feb 5. It has an Earnings ESP of +0.60% and a Zacks Rank #2.

PPL Corporation (NYSE:PPL) is slated to release fourth-quarter 2019 results on Feb 13. It has an Earnings ESP of +0.31% and a Zacks Rank #2.

CenterPoint Energy Inc. (NYSE:CNP) is scheduled to release fourth-quarter 2019 results on Feb 27. It has an Earnings ESP of +1.09% and a Zacks Rank #3.

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