Candriam S.C.A. Has $561,000 Stake in Atmos Energy Corporation $ATO

Candriam S.C.A. trimmed its position in shares of Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO) by 85.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,039 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 17,604 shares during the period. Candriam S.C.A.’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $561,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,032,554 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,525,687,000 after buying an additional 276,485 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors increased its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 8.5% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 11,893,826 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,993,968,000 after purchasing an additional 927,986 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,786,358 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,808,117,000 after purchasing an additional 155,836 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,214,985 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $703,824,000 after purchasing an additional 78,438 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE lifted its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 2.3% in the third quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 3,737,053 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $638,102,000 after purchasing an additional 84,786 shares in the last quarter. 90.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Atmos Energy Price Performance

Shares of ATO opened at $175.07 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $29.22 billion, a PE ratio of 21.51, a PEG ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.60. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $174.16 and its 200 day moving average price is $177.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 1.00. Atmos Energy Corporation has a twelve month low of $153.84 and a twelve month high of $192.51.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $3.47 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.37 by $0.10. Atmos Energy had a net margin of 27.58% and a return on equity of 9.59%. The company had revenue of $1.96 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.94 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.03 earnings per share. Atmos Energy has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.400-8.500 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Atmos Energy Corporation will post 8.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 8th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 26th were given a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 26th. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. Atmos Energy’s payout ratio is currently 49.14%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on ATO shares. Argus dropped their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $190.00 to $185.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. Mizuho decreased their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $192.00 to $184.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 29th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of Atmos Energy from $193.00 to $196.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Atmos Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 4th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered Atmos Energy from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Atmos Energy has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $186.33.

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.