Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Brokerages

Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO) has received an average recommendation of “Hold” from the fourteen research firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $186.3333.

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on ATO shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Atmos Energy from $196.00 to $198.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday. Argus lowered their target price on Atmos Energy from $190.00 to $185.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. Mizuho dropped their target price on Atmos Energy from $192.00 to $184.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 29th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on Atmos Energy from $193.00 to $196.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on Atmos Energy from $182.00 to $191.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Atmos Energy

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Garner Asset Management Corp bought a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Atmos Energy by 85.9% in the fourth quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 158 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the period. Kingdom Financial Group LLC. bought a new position in Atmos Energy during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in Atmos Energy by 627.3% during the 2nd quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 160 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 138 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Princeton Global Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Atmos Energy by 270.2% during the 4th quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC now owns 174 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 127 shares during the period. 90.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Atmos Energy Price Performance

ATO stock opened at $177.78 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $174.08 and a 200 day simple moving average of $177.35. The stock has a market cap of $29.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.84, a P/E/G ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.60. Atmos Energy has a 1 year low of $153.94 and a 1 year high of $192.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.89.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $3.47 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.37 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $1.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.94 billion. Atmos Energy had a net margin of 27.58% and a return on equity of 9.59%. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.03 earnings per share. Atmos Energy has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.400-8.500 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Atmos Energy will post 8.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 8th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 26th were given a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 26th. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 49.14%.

Atmos Energy Company Profile

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.