Inspire Investing LLC increased its stake in Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO – Free Report) by 11.6% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 35,109 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,648 shares during the quarter. Inspire Investing LLC’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $5,492,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in Atmos Energy during the 2nd quarter valued at $2,624,975,000. Bank of America Corp DE grew its holdings in Atmos Energy by 11.0% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 4,199,433 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $775,719,000 after acquiring an additional 416,933 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG bought a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy in the 2nd quarter worth about $431,677,000. Amundi increased its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 40.0% in the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 1,823,714 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $314,171,000 after purchasing an additional 520,828 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at about $276,558,000. Institutional investors own 90.17% of the company’s stock.
Analyst Ratings Changes
Several brokerages have recently commented on ATO. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Atmos Energy from $184.00 to $183.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Argus reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $185.00 price objective on shares of Atmos Energy in a report on Tuesday, October 6th. Truist Financial cut their price objective on Atmos Energy from $179.00 to $174.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 15th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Atmos Energy from $179.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on Atmos Energy from $173.00 to $167.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 1st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $183.27.
Get Our Latest Research Report on ATO
Atmos Energy Trading Down 0.8%
NYSE ATO opened at $172.49 on Friday. Atmos Energy Corporation has a one year low of $154.72 and a one year high of $192.51. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $164.04 and a 200-day simple moving average of $172.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 0.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $29.15 billion, a PE ratio of 20.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.57.
Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.43 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $879.06 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $900.82 million. Atmos Energy had a net margin of 28.50% and a return on equity of 9.67%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.16 EPS. Atmos Energy has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.400-8.500 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Atmos Energy Corporation will post 8.47 earnings per share for the current year.
Atmos Energy Announces Dividend
The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 24th were paid a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 24th. Atmos Energy’s payout ratio is presently 47.62%.
Insider Activity at Atmos Energy
In related news, Director William Ware bought 300 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $167.59 per share, with a total value of $50,277.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 488 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $81,783.92. This trade represents a 159.57% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.43% of the company’s stock.
About Atmos Energy
Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO) is a regulated natural gas utility that distributes natural gas to residential, commercial, industrial and agricultural customers. The company also operates natural gas pipeline and storage assets, supporting the transportation and management of gas within its service areas.
Atmos Energy serves more than 3 million distribution customers across eight states, including Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee, Kentucky, Virginia, Kansas and Colorado. Its distribution operations include a large network of natural gas pipelines and related infrastructure, while its pipeline and storage business provides transportation and storage services primarily in Texas and Mississippi.
The company traces its history to 1906 and is headquartered in Dallas, Texas.
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