Customer Growth and Strategic Investments Drive OGS' Performance

ONE Gas OGS is benefiting from a regulated structure, continued customer growth and new rates, which are driving revenue expansion and earnings growth. Its strategic investments in infrastructure development and system upgrades enhance operational stability while supporting long-term financial and operational growth.OGS’ TailwindsONE Gas benefits from its fully regulated structure and expanding customer base, which provide stable earnings, predictable cash flows and support long-term growth prospects. During the first quarter of 2026, OGS served 2,315,000 customers, reflecting a 0.43% year-over-year increase. Customer growth is expected to persist over the coming years, supported by regular investments that improve efficiency and ensure affordable service costs. ONE Gas plans to invest nearly $230 million in 2026 to support customer growth initiatives.The company benefits from favorable rate adjustments and rising natural gas consumption, particularly among residential customers. Continued customer growth and increased household usage are driving higher sales volumes and boosting revenues, contributing to the company's overall financial performance.The company’s capital investment program supports infrastructure expansion, pipeline integrity and replacement, system capacity growth, service extensions, automated metering, facility upgrades, IT assets, cybersecurity and regulatory compliance projects. The company plans to invest $800 million in 2026 and approximately $4.3 billion over the next five years. These investments are expected to support annual rate base growth of 7-9%.OGS’ HeadwindsThe company relies heavily on natural gas distribution for earnings. Stricter regulations on shale gas production or wastewater disposal could raise gas prices, prompting customers to switch to lower-cost energy alternatives and adversely affecting financial performance.The company operates in a highly competitive natural gas market and must continually demonstrate service reliability to retain customers. Lower electricity prices or declines in competing energy costs could reduce the attractiveness of natural gas and adversely affect the company’s growth prospects.Price Performance of OGSIn the past six months, ONE Gas' shares have risen 1.5% compared with the industry’s 2.2% growth.Image Source: Zacks Investment ResearchOGS’ Zacks RankONE Gas currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.Stocks to ConsiderSome better-ranked stocks in the same sector include Evergy EVRG, NextEra Energy NEE and Southwest Gas SWX. All stocks carry a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) at present. Currently, EVRG, NEE and SWX’s long-term (three to five years) earnings growth is pinned at 9.07%, 8.51% and 9.89%, respectively.The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Evergy, NextEra Energy and Southwest Gas’ 2026 EPS is pegged at $4.25, $4.01 and $4.27, suggesting year-over-year growth of 10.97%,8.09% and 16.99%, respectively. Beyond Nvidia: AI's Second Wave Is HereThe AI revolution has already minted millionaires. But the stocks everyone knows about aren't likely to keep delivering the biggest profits. AI’s second wave is moving from infrastructure to implementation and these companies are at the forefront of this transition, positioned to become what Amazon and Google were to the internet era.See Stocks Now >>This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).Zacks Investment ResearchWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks