股市表现 - 本月股市表现不佳，道琼斯指数、标普500指数和纳斯达克综合指数分别下跌了4.6%、2.5%和1.2%[1] - 4月12日当周，道琼斯指数下跌了2.4%，标普500指数下跌了1.6%，纳斯达克综合指数下跌了0.5%[2] 通胀和利率 - 3月份消费者价格指数(CPI)环比上涨0.4%，同比上涨3.5%，核心CPI环比上涨0.4%，同比上涨3.8%[3] - 美国实行严格的货币政策和高利率政策，但通胀率仍居高不下，美联储官员担心通胀率未达目标水平[4] 原油价格和通胀 - 原油价格上涨，美国西德克萨斯中质原油和全球基准布伦特原油价格分别达到每桶87.67美元和92.18美元[9] - 投资者担心原油价格上涨将导致通胀加剧，对运输行业和美国经济软着陆构成挑战[10] 防御性行业股票推荐 - 公司推荐了五只来自消费品、医疗保健和公用事业等防御性行业的股票，这些股票在2024年有强劲潜力，并在过去60天内看到了正面盈利预期修订[11] 公用事业公司 - 美国水务公司(AWK)受益于收购资产和军事合同，基础设施投资将提高服务效率，水费和废水费率提高推动公司业绩[12] 天然气公司 - Atmos能源公司(ATO)受益于需求增长，长期投资计划将提高其天然气管道的安全性和可靠性[14] 健康食品公司 - Celsius控股公司(CELH)专注于推广更健康、营养丰富的功能性食品、饮料和膳食补充剂，预计当前年度收入和盈利增长率分别为41.6%和41.6%[17] 饮料公司 - Molson Coors饮料公司(TAP)受益于品牌实力和全球组合的强劲表现，预计2024年净销售额将在不变货币基础上低个位数增长，基础每股收益也有望在中个位数增长[20] 医疗保健公司 - HCA医疗保健公司(HCA)的收入增长得益于入院和门诊手术的激增，预计2024年等效入院率将增长3-4%，管理医疗保险业务的显著增长将推动公司的业绩[22]

Inflation has started its climb once again this year, raising concerns over the Federal Reserve’s plans for rate cuts. The Labor Department said on Apr 10 that the Consumer Price Index (CPI) accelerated 0.4% month over month in March, higher than economists’ expectations of a rise of 0.3%. CPI rose by the same margin in February. Year-over-year CPI rose 3.5% in March, higher than the consensus estimate of a rise of 3.4%, and the highest since September. This follows a 3.2% jump in February.The jump in March ...

公司战略投资 - Atmos Energy Corporation计划进行战略投资，以进一步提高其天然气管道、分配和运输系统的安全性和可靠性，推动其业绩[1] 盈利能力 - 公司长期（三至五年）盈利增长率为7%，过去四个季度平均盈利惊喜为1.2%[3] 资本利用效率 - Atmos Energy的资产回报率（ROE）为8.62%，高于行业平均值，表明公司比同行更有效地利用资金[5] 财务状况 - 公司目前的总债务占资本比为40.08%，优于行业平均水平[6] 股息政策 - 公司的股息历史显示，连续40年增加年度股息，目前每股季度股息为80.5美分，2024财年的股息为每股3.22美元，比去年同期增长了8.8%[8] - 公司计划通过2026财年每年将股息增加6-8%，目前的股息收益率为2.77%，优于Zacks S&P 500 Composite的1.3%[9] 资本支出计划 - Atmos Energy拥有稳固的资本支出计划，用于提高其天然气管道的安全性和可靠性，其中大部分计划资本支出用于改善其分配和运输系统的安全性和可靠性[10] - 公司在2023财年投资28亿美元，其中85%用于安全和可靠性，预计在2024财年的资本支出为29亿美元[11] 股价表现 - 在过去六个月中，Atmos Energy的股价上涨了6%，高于行业的4.9%增长[12]

通货膨胀趋势 - 今年通货膨胀再次上升，市场对美联储首次降息的时机感到担忧[1] 消费价格指数（CPI） - 消费者价格指数（CPI）在2月份同比上涨3.2%[3] - 核心CPI同比上涨3.8%[3] 生产价格指数（PPI） - 生产者价格指数（PPI）在2月份环比上涨0.6%[4] - 核心PPI环比上涨0.3%[4]

Wall Street witnessed an impressive bull run in 2023, but the utility sector suffered a blow. Of the 11 broad sectors of the market’s benchmark — the S&P 500 Index — the Utility sector declined more than 11%. Investors’ preference shifted to growth stocks from defensive sectors like utility as the Fed significantly reduced the magnitude of interest rate hikes.However, the utility sector is likely to regain momentum in 2024. Last week, Fed Chairman Jerome Powell gave his testimony before the Senate after app ...

Inflation rose for the second consecutive month in February, raising concerns of a rate cut anytime soon. The Labor Department reported on Mar 12 that the consumer price index (CPI) rose 0.4% in February. Although the jump came in line with the economists’ expectations, it was higher than January’s jump of 0.3%.Also, this was the biggest jump since September 2023, following which inflation declined steadily, encouraging the Federal Reserve to halt interest rate hikes.Year over year, CPI rose 3.2% in Februar ...

Investors interested in Utilities stocks should always be looking to find the best-performing companies in the group. Has Atmos Energy (ATO) been one of those stocks this year? A quick glance at the company's year-to-date performance in comparison to the rest of the Utilities sector should help us answer this question.Atmos Energy is a member of our Utilities group, which includes 104 different companies and currently sits at #10 in the Zacks Sector Rank. The Zacks Sector Rank considers 16 different groups, ...

Fed Chair Jerome Powell always emphasized that interest rate cuts later this year will be fitting, but they are reliant on the path of the economy.Talking about the economy, the labor market continued to exhibit strength with 275,000 nonfarm jobs added in February, much higher than the forecasted 200,000, per the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Payrolls are, thus, almost double the number of monthly jobs needed to keep up with growth among the working-age population.However, it’s the rise in the unemployment le ...

Getting big returns from financial portfolios, whether through stocks, bonds, ETFs, other securities, or a combination of all, is an investor's dream. But when you're an income investor, your primary focus is generating consistent cash flow from each of your liquid investments.Cash flow can come from bond interest, interest from other types of investments, and of course, dividends. A dividend is the distribution of a company's earnings paid out to shareholders; it's often viewed by its dividend yield, a met ...

资本支出计划 - Atmos Energy计划进行战略投资以提高天然气管道的安全性和可靠性[1] - 公司拥有强大的资本支出计划，用于提高天然气管道的安全性和可靠性[3] - 公司计划的资本支出中，大部分用于改善其分配和运输系统的安全性和可靠性[3] 工业客户增长 - 公司通过增加工业客户和获得有益的费率结果获益[1][5] - 公司新增了11个新的工业客户，每年将消耗约2.5亿立方英尺的天然气[5] - 工业客户基础的扩大提升了公司的营业收入[5] 竞争环境 - 公司在其服务区域内不会直接面临任何其他天然气的住宅和商业分销商的竞争[6] - 公司必须与其他天然气和替代燃料供应商竞争，以销售给工业客户[6] - 公司还必须与用于空间和水加热以及烹饪市场的能源产品竞争[7]