Atmos Energy Corporation $ATO Shares Acquired by Vanguard Group Inc.

Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO) by 0.2% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 20,756,069 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 47,071 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 12.93% of Atmos Energy worth $3,544,099,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 1.6% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,073,886 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $625,180,000 after buying an additional 63,166 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in Atmos Energy by 94.9% during 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 acquiring an additional 1,778,653 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in Atmos Energy by 3.1% during the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,082,338 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $475,019,000 after acquiring an additional 91,254 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 2.6% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,949,497 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $332,877,000 after purchasing an additional 50,214 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Atmos Energy during the second quarter valued at $282,487,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

Atmos Energy Stock Down 1.2%

ATO stock opened at $178.15 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $29.47 billion, a PE ratio of 23.14, a P/E/G ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 0.75. Atmos Energy Corporation has a 12 month low of $141.59 and a 12 month high of $181.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $169.64 and a 200 day simple moving average of $169.93.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The utilities provider reported $2.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.41 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $1.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.21 billion. Atmos Energy had a return on equity of 9.20% and a net margin of 25.67%.During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.23 earnings per share. Atmos Energy has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.150-8.350 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Atmos Energy Corporation will post 7.18 earnings per share 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. Investors 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 2.2%. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 51.95%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on ATO shares. Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 2nd. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Atmos Energy from $163.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Atmos Energy in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Barclays boosted their target price on Atmos Energy from $165.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and set a $180.00 price target on shares of Atmos Energy in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $174.33.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Atmos Energy news, Director Sean Donohue sold 450 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.15, for a total transaction of $77,017.50. Following the sale, the director owned 877 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.43% of the company’s stock.

About Atmos Energy

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.