Meeder Advisory Services Inc. Makes New $738,000 Investment in Atmos Energy Corporation $ATO

Meeder Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new stake in Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 4,283 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $738,000.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in Atmos Energy in the second quarter worth about $2,624,975,000. Deutsche Bank AG purchased a new position in shares of Atmos Energy during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $431,677,000. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Atmos Energy in the 4th quarter worth approximately $331,426,000. Bank of America Corp DE raised its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 94.9% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 3,652,267 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $562,851,000 after acquiring an additional 1,778,653 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 26,269.9% in the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,033,701 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $173,279,000 after purchasing an additional 1,029,781 shares during the period. 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 several recent research reports. Truist Financial reduced their price target on Atmos Energy from $188.00 to $179.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 13th. Weiss Ratings lowered Atmos Energy from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Mizuho dropped their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $192.00 to $184.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 29th. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on shares of Atmos Energy in a research report on Monday, July 13th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $200.00 target price on the stock. Finally, TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $193.00 to $196.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Atmos Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $188.27.

Atmos Energy Stock Down 0.4%

ATO stock opened at $170.63 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $28.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.29, a P/E/G ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.73. Atmos Energy Corporation has a 1-year low of $160.10 and a 1-year high of $192.51. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $173.62 and a 200-day moving average price of $178.34.

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

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Atmos Energy

In related news, Director William James Ware acquired 300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $167.59 per share, for a total transaction of $50,277.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 488 shares in the company, valued at $81,783.92. The trade was a 159.57% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.43% of the company’s stock.

About Atmos Energy

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.