Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp Invests $1.24 Million in Atmos Energy Corporation $ATO

Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp bought a new position in Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO) during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund bought 8,045 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,240,000.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Truist Financial Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 2.9% during the second quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 34,705 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,348,000 after purchasing an additional 981 shares during the period. Blair William & Co. IL lifted its position in Atmos Energy by 8.4% in the 2nd quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 1,970 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $304,000 after buying an additional 152 shares in the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC lifted its position in Atmos Energy by 20.6% in the 1st quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 109,772 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $16,969,000 after buying an additional 18,753 shares in the last quarter. Obermeyer Wealth Partners boosted its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 16.7% during the 2nd quarter. Obermeyer Wealth Partners now owns 16,553 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,551,000 after buying an additional 2,369 shares during the period. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 16.6% during the 2nd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 7,951 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,217,000 after acquiring an additional 1,132 shares in the last quarter. 90.17% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ATO has been the topic of a number of research reports. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Atmos Energy from $164.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, September 26th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $163.00 target price (down previously from $171.00) on shares of Atmos Energy in a research note on Friday, August 8th. TD Cowen raised Atmos Energy to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 15th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b+)” rating on shares of Atmos Energy in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Argus set a $172.00 price target on Atmos Energy in a research note on Thursday, September 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $170.44.

Atmos Energy Stock Up 0.8%

ATO opened at $176.96 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $28.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.73. 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 business has a 50 day moving average price of $170.68 and a 200 day moving average price of $162.14. Atmos Energy Corporation has a twelve month low of $136.05 and a twelve month high of $180.65.

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

Atmos Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 8th. Investors of record on Monday, November 24th will be paid a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 24th. This is a boost from Atmos Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.87. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 47.80%.

About Atmos Energy

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.