Bank of New York Mellon Corp Lowers Position in Atmos Energy Corporation $ATO

Bank of New York Mellon Corp decreased its position in shares of Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO) by 4.5% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 886,767 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 42,096 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned about 0.56% of Atmos Energy worth $136,660,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ATO. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 2.1% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,791,335 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,213,925,000 after purchasing an additional 424,235 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its holdings in Atmos Energy by 24.3% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 1,317,500 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $203,659,000 after purchasing an additional 257,341 shares in the last quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP lifted its position in Atmos Energy by 9.3% during the second quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP now owns 1,011,409 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $155,868,000 after buying an additional 86,472 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Atmos Energy by 3.8% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 950,573 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $146,940,000 after buying an additional 34,878 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 11.3% during the 1st quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 895,475 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $138,422,000 after buying an additional 91,266 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

Atmos Energy Trading Up 1.8%

Shares of NYSE ATO opened at $175.62 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $170.47 and its 200-day moving average price is $162.00. Atmos Energy Corporation has a 52-week low of $136.05 and a 52-week high of $180.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a current ratio of 1.37. The company has a market cap of $28.19 billion, a PE ratio of 24.12, a P/E/G ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.73.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.07 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.01 by $0.06. Atmos Energy had a net margin of 25.05% and a return on equity of 9.00%. The company had revenue of $754.64 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $726.97 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.08 earnings per share. Atmos Energy has set its FY 2025 guidance at 8.150-8.350 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Atmos Energy Corporation will post 7.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 24th will be paid a $1.00 dividend. This is an increase from Atmos Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.87. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 24th. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 47.80%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on ATO. Argus set a $172.00 price target on shares of Atmos Energy in a research report on Thursday, September 18th. Barclays set a $175.00 target price on shares of Atmos Energy in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. Bank of America reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $185.00 price target (up from $182.00) on shares of Atmos Energy in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. Cowen started coverage on Atmos Energy in a research note on Wednesday, October 15th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $163.00 price objective (down previously from $171.00) on shares of Atmos Energy in a research note on Friday, August 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $170.44.

Atmos Energy Profile

Atmos Energy Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the regulated natural gas distribution, and pipeline and storage businesses in the United States. It operates through two segments, Distribution, and Pipeline and Storage. The Distribution segment is involved in the regulated natural gas distribution and related sales operations in eight states.