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ATO vs CPK
Which Stock Would AI Choose? Atmos Energy Corporation (ATO) vs. Chesapeake Utilities Corporation (CPK) Stock Comparison
Key Takeaways
- ATO has significantly outperformed CPK year-to-date (YTD), with approximately 13% gains compared to just 2% for CPK.
- Both stocks offer attractive dividend yields around 2.1-2.2%, appealing to income-focused investors in the utilities sector.
- ATO's larger market capitalization of $31 billion provides greater scale and stability, evidenced by its lower beta of 0.65 (a measure of volatility relative to the market).
- Recent market activity shows positive momentum for ATO, including analyst price target increases, while CPK has experienced more muted performance.
- CPK trades at a slightly lower trailing P/E ratio (price-to-earnings) of 21.3 versus 24.6 for ATO, suggesting relative value.
- Tickeron's AI analysis leans toward ATO for its stronger trend consistency in the current environment.
Introduction
Atmos Energy Corporation (ATO) and Chesapeake Utilities Corporation (CPK) are both players in the regulated natural gas utilities sector, offering stability amid market volatility. This comparison is particularly relevant for dividend-seeking investors and traders eyeing defensive sectors, as both companies provide essential energy distribution services. With recent shifts in energy demand and interest rate sensitivity affecting utilities, understanding their relative performance, growth drivers, and risk profiles helps inform stock selection in today's environment.
ATO Overview and Recent Performance
Atmos Energy Corporation (ATO) is a leading U.S. natural gas distributor operating in eight states, serving 3.4 million customers through 76,000 miles of pipelines. Its pipeline and storage segment supports third-party transport. In recent market activity, ATO stock has demonstrated robust momentum, rising about 13% YTD and outperforming the utilities sector average. Shares have climbed toward the upper end of their 52-week range (around $150-$193), driven by strong earnings expectations, capital investments in safety and reliability totaling $2.4 billion recently, and analyst actions like Bank of America raising its price target. Positive sentiment stems from consistent profitability and multi-year share price gains, though valuation discussions highlight its premium P/E ratio.
CPK Overview and Recent Performance
Chesapeake Utilities Corporation (CPK) delivers energy across regulated natural gas and electric distribution in Delaware, Maryland, Florida, and other areas, complemented by unregulated propane, natural gas supply, and renewable energy ventures. With a smaller footprint, it serves diverse Mid-Atlantic and Florida markets. CPK shares have shown stability but limited upside recently, up only 2% YTD and slightly down over the past month within a 52-week range of $115-$141. Performance reflects steady operations and dividend growth in the top quartile historically, yet lacks the momentum of peers amid broader sector pressures. Analyst targets suggest upside potential to around $149, supported by solid EPS of nearly $6.
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Head-to-Head Comparison
Both ATO and CPK operate in regulated gas utilities, but ATO's larger scale emphasizes distribution and infrastructure, driving growth via rate-approved replacements, while CPK balances regulated operations with unregulated propane and renewables for diversification. Recent momentum favors ATO, with stronger YTD returns and sector outperformance, versus CPK's flatter trajectory. Risk profiles differ: ATO's lower beta signals less volatility, suiting conservative portfolios, while CPK offers a value edge at a lower P/E. Market sentiment tilts toward ATO amid its earnings catalysts, though both benefit from defensive sector exposure.
Tickeron AI Verdict
Tickeron's AI currently favors ATO over CPK, based on superior trend consistency, YTD relative performance, and recent positive catalysts like analyst upgrades. ATO's stability and momentum position it better for near-term upside in a utilities-favoring environment, though CPK could appeal if value rotation accelerates.
Disclaimer
The information on this webpage is provided for general informational and educational purposes only and is not intended as investment advice, a recommendation to purchase or sell any security, or an offer or solicitation related to investments. It does not consider your personal financial situation, goals, or risk profile, and all investing carries inherent risks, including the possibility of losing your entire investment. For more details, please review our full Disclaimers and Limitations.
To compare these two companies we present long-term analysis, their fundamental ratings and make comparative short-term technical analysis which are presented below. The conclusion is ATO is a Hold and CPK is a Buy.
Long-Term Analysis
It is best to consider a long-term outlook for a ticker by using Fundamental Analysis (FA) ratings. The rating of 1 to 100, where 1 is best and 100 is worst, is divided into thirds. The first third (a green rating of 1-33) indicates that the ticker is undervalued; the second third (a grey number between 34 and 66) means that the ticker is valued fairly; and the last third (red number of 67 to 100) reflects that the ticker is undervalued. We use an FA Score to show how many ratings show the ticker to be undervalued (green) or overvalued (red).
ATO’s FA Score shows that 1 FA rating(s) are green whileCPK’s FA Score has 0 green FA rating(s).
- ATO’s FA Score: 1 green, 4 red.
- CPK’s FA Score: 0 green, 5 red.
Short-Term Analysis
It is best to consider a short-term outlook for a ticker by using Technical Analysis (TA) indicators. We use Odds of Success as the percentage of outcomes which confirm successful trade signals in the past.
If the Odds of Success (the likelihood of the continuation of a trend) for each indicator are greater than 50%, then the generated signal is confirmed. A green percentage from 90% to 51% indicates that the ticker is in a bullish trend. A red percentage from 90% - 51% indicates that the ticker is in a bearish trend. All grey percentages are below 50% and are considered not to confirm the trend signal.
ATO’s TA Score shows that 4 TA indicator(s) are bullish while CPK’s TA Score has 5 bullish TA indicator(s).
- ATO’s TA Score: 4 bullish, 6 bearish.
- CPK’s TA Score: 5 bullish, 3 bearish.
Price Growth
ATO (@Gas Distributors) experienced а -2.31% price change this week, while CPK (@Gas Distributors) price change was +1.24% for the same time period.
The average weekly price growth across all stocks in the @Gas Distributors industry was +0.14%. For the same industry, the average monthly price growth was -0.04%, and the average quarterly price growth was +9.25%.
Reported Earning Dates
ATO is expected to report earnings on Aug 12, 2026.
CPK is expected to report earnings on Aug 05, 2026.
Industries' Descriptions
@Gas Distributors (+0.14% weekly)Gas distributors are involved in moving and selling gas – from wellheads or over-distribution systems operated by other firms – to residential and non-residential customers. These companies perform tasks such as the gathering and processing of gas, intrastate and interstate transport, and delivery to the customer. Some of the biggest gas distributing companies in the U.S. include Sempra Energy, Avangrid Inc and Atmos Energy Corporation.
| ATO | CPK | ATO / CPK | |
| Capitalization | 29.7B | 3.07B | 969% |
| EBITDA | 2.59B | 384M | 676% |
| Gain YTD | 6.614 | 2.912 | 227% |
| P/E Ratio | 21.89 | 20.50 | 107% |
| Revenue | 4.88B | 984M | 496% |
| Total Cash | 126M | 4.7M | 2,681% |
| Total Debt | 9.63B | 1.67B | 578% |
ATO | CPK | ||
|---|---|---|---|
OUTLOOK RATING 1..100 | 62 | 14 | |
VALUATION overvalued / fair valued / undervalued 1..100 | 76 Overvalued | 75 Overvalued | |
PROFIT vs RISK RATING 1..100 | 6 | 76 | |
SMR RATING 1..100 | 71 | 71 | |
PRICE GROWTH RATING 1..100 | 54 | 58 | |
P/E GROWTH RATING 1..100 | 49 | 61 | |
SEASONALITY SCORE 1..100 | 65 | 50 |
Tickeron ratings are formulated such that a rating of 1 designates the most successful stocks in a given industry, while a rating of 100 points to the least successful stocks for that industry.
CPK's Valuation (75) in the Gas Distributors industry is in the same range as ATO (76). This means that CPK’s stock grew similarly to ATO’s over the last 12 months.
ATO's Profit vs Risk Rating (6) in the Gas Distributors industry is significantly better than the same rating for CPK (76). This means that ATO’s stock grew significantly faster than CPK’s over the last 12 months.
ATO's SMR Rating (71) in the Gas Distributors industry is in the same range as CPK (71). This means that ATO’s stock grew similarly to CPK’s over the last 12 months.
ATO's Price Growth Rating (54) in the Gas Distributors industry is in the same range as CPK (58). This means that ATO’s stock grew similarly to CPK’s over the last 12 months.
ATO's P/E Growth Rating (49) in the Gas Distributors industry is in the same range as CPK (61). This means that ATO’s stock grew similarly to CPK’s over the last 12 months.
| ATO | CPK | |
|---|---|---|
| RSI ODDS (%) | 1 day ago 41% | N/A |
| Stochastic ODDS (%) | 1 day ago 44% | 1 day ago 56% |
| Momentum ODDS (%) | 1 day ago 38% | 1 day ago 66% |
| MACD ODDS (%) | 1 day ago 33% | 1 day ago 55% |
| TrendWeek ODDS (%) | 1 day ago 34% | 1 day ago 53% |
| TrendMonth ODDS (%) | 1 day ago 33% | 1 day ago 47% |
| Advances ODDS (%) | 23 days ago 49% | 1 day ago 48% |
| Declines ODDS (%) | 8 days ago 39% | 10 days ago 50% |
| BollingerBands ODDS (%) | 1 day ago 58% | N/A |
| Aroon ODDS (%) | 1 day ago 23% | 1 day ago 49% |
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| 1 Day | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| ETFs / NAME | Price $ | Chg $ | Chg % |
| AKRE | 54.05 | 0.01 | +0.02% |
| Akre Focus ETF | |||
| SRVR | 33.62 | -0.17 | -0.50% |
| Pacer Data & Infrastructure Rl EsttETF | |||
| JPC | 7.65 | -0.04 | -0.52% |
| Nuveen Preferred & Income Opportunities Fund | |||
| DXIV | 71.10 | -0.75 | -1.05% |
| Dimensional International Vector Eq ETF | |||
| MXE | 13.57 | -0.23 | -1.63% |
| Mexico Equity and Income Fund (The) | |||
ATO and
Correlation & Price change
A.I.dvisor indicates that over the last year, ATO has been closely correlated with OGS. These tickers have moved in lockstep 77% of the time. This A.I.-generated data suggests there is a high statistical probability that if ATO jumps, then OGS could also see price increases.
CPK and
Correlation & Price change
A.I.dvisor indicates that over the last year, CPK has been closely correlated with OGS. These tickers have moved in lockstep 78% of the time. This A.I.-generated data suggests there is a high statistical probability that if CPK jumps, then OGS could also see price increases.