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Atmos Energy Corp., headquartered in Dallas, serves more than 3.3 million natural gas distribution customers in over 1,400 communities ranging from the Blue Ridge to the Rocky Mountains. Atmos also has natural gas pipeline and storage assets, including one of the largest intrastate natural gas pipeline systems in Texas. The company has approximately 5,000 employees. ATO shares are a component of the S&P 500.

At midday, the major benchmarks are modestly higher, with individual stocks moving on earnings news. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note is two basis points higher at 4.44%. Crude oil is up at $80 per barrel. Gold is also up, while Bitcoin is down.

Management's ability to "raise guidance" can often be a catalyst for market-beating returns in the quarters ahead. The first-quarter earnings season has crossed the 90% mark and is wrapping up, with blended earnings (actual results and the consensus for those still to report) showing a year-over-year gain of almost 7%, according to Refinitiv. That is considerably better than the 4%-7% advance expected at the start of the earnings period. Leading the outperformance were strong gains in Communication Services earnings, up 43%, and Consumer Discretionary, up 26%. On the flipside, Healthcare and Energy, both down 24%, are performing the worst. Our analysts are always on the lookout for companies that boost outlooks during earnings season, as this is often a signal for momentum in the months ahead. Here is an initial list of BUY-rated companies in the Argus Fundamental Universe of Coverage at which management raised guidance or increased its outlook during the 1Q24 EPS reporting season.

The Vickers Top Buyers & Sellers is a daily report that identifies the five companies the largest insider purchase transactions based on the dollar value of the transactions as well as the five companies the largest insider sales transactions based on the dollar value of the transactions.