Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO) Given Average Recommendation of “Hold” by Analysts

Shares of Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO) have earned an average rating of “Hold” from the thirteen brokerages that are covering the company, MarketBeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $174.3333.

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “underperform” rating and issued a $180.00 price target on shares of Atmos Energy in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $159.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday. Bank of America reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $185.00 price target (up previously from $182.00) on shares of Atmos Energy in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on Atmos Energy from $165.00 to $167.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th.

Atmos Energy Stock Performance

Shares of ATO stock opened at $174.28 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $168.50 and a 200-day simple moving average of $169.07. The company has a market cap of $28.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.75. Atmos Energy has a 12-month low of $141.52 and a 12-month high of $180.65.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 3rd. The utilities provider reported $2.44 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.41 by $0.03. Atmos Energy had a return on equity of 9.20% and a net margin of 25.67%.The firm had revenue of $1.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.21 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.23 earnings per share. Atmos Energy has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.150-8.350 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Atmos Energy will post 7.18 EPS for the current year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 9th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 23rd will be given 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

In related news, Director Sean Donohue sold 450 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.15, for a total value of $77,017.50. Following the sale, the director directly owned 877 shares in the company, valued at $150,098.55. The trade was a 33.91% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.43% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Atmos Energy

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $331,426,000. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in Atmos Energy by 94.9% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 3,652,267 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $562,851,000 after buying an additional 1,778,653 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its holdings in Atmos Energy by 26,269.9% during the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,033,701 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $173,279,000 after buying an additional 1,029,781 shares during the last quarter. PFA Pension Forsikringsaktieselskab acquired a new stake in Atmos Energy during the 4th quarter valued at $107,729,000. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC increased its position in Atmos Energy by 220.1% during the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 720,956 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $111,107,000 after buying an additional 495,712 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.17% 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.