ProShare Advisors LLC Increases Stake in Atmos Energy Corporation $ATO

ProShare Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO) by 6.8% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 1,112,097 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 70,355 shares during the quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $189,891,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Root Financial Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Atmos Energy during the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Atmos Energy by 105.4% during the 3rd quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 191 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares during the period. WFA of San Diego LLC bought a new position in Atmos Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at $46,000. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its stake in Atmos Energy by 30.4% in the third quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 279 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. 90.17% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on ATO shares. TD Cowen started coverage on shares of Atmos Energy in a research note on Wednesday, October 15th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday. Morgan Stanley restated an “underperform” rating and issued a $180.00 target price on shares of Atmos Energy in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Bank of America reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $185.00 target price (up from $182.00) on shares of Atmos Energy in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Atmos Energy to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $174.33.

Atmos Energy Trading Down 0.0%

NYSE:ATO opened at $171.44 on Monday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $168.42 and a 200-day simple moving average of $168.85. Atmos Energy Corporation has a one year low of $140.85 and a one year high of $180.65. The firm has a market cap of $28.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.26, a P/E/G ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.13.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 3rd. The utilities provider reported $2.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.41 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $1.34 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.21 billion. Atmos Energy had a net margin of 25.67% and a return on equity of 9.20%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.23 earnings per share. Atmos Energy has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.150-8.350 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Atmos Energy Corporation will post 7.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 9th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 23rd will be issued a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 23rd. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 51.95%.

Insider Activity at Atmos Energy

In related news, Director Sean Donohue sold 450 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.15, for a total transaction of $77,017.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 877 shares in the company, valued at $150,098.55. This represents a 33.91% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.43% of the company’s stock.

Atmos Energy Company Profile

Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE: ATO) is a U.S.-based natural-gas utility that primarily focuses on the regulated distribution of natural gas. Headquartered in Dallas, Texas, the company operates through local distribution systems to deliver natural gas to residential, commercial, industrial and electric generation customers. Atmos’s core activities include pipeline operations, gas distribution, system maintenance and reliability programs designed to ensure safe and continuous service to its customers.

The company’s services encompass gas delivery, system integrity and maintenance, storage and transmission connections, and customer-facing programs such as billing, conservation initiatives and energy-efficiency offerings.