West Family Investments Inc. Makes New Investment in Atmos Energy Corporation $ATO

West Family Investments Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 4,629 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $797,000.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of ATO. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. purchased a new position in shares of Atmos Energy in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,582,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 30.9% during the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 486,229 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $81,507,000 after purchasing an additional 114,836 shares during the last quarter. Opal Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy during the first quarter worth approximately $6,154,000. Entropy Technologies LP acquired a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy during the first quarter worth $2,558,000. Finally, B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG lifted its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 26.2% during the fourth quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG now owns 25,985 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,359,000 after purchasing an additional 5,400 shares during the period. 90.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on ATO shares. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on shares of Atmos Energy in a report on Monday, July 13th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $200.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Atmos Energy from $196.00 to $198.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Mizuho reduced their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $192.00 to $184.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Wall Street Zen lowered Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Truist Financial dropped their target price on Atmos Energy from $188.00 to $179.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $188.27.

Atmos Energy Price Performance

Atmos Energy stock opened at $171.16 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $28.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.35, a P/E/G ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.60. Atmos Energy Corporation has a 12-month low of $160.10 and a 12-month high of $192.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.73. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $173.57 and its two-hundred day moving average is $178.31.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.08. Atmos Energy had a return on equity of 9.67% and a net margin of 28.50%.The business had revenue of $879.06 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $900.82 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.16 earnings per share. Atmos Energy has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.400-8.500 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Atmos Energy Corporation will post 8.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 24th will be given a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 24th. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 47.56%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director William James Ware bought 300 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $167.59 per share, for a total transaction of $50,277.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 488 shares in the company, valued at $81,783.92. This represents a 159.57% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.43% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Atmos Energy 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.