Atmos Energy Corporation $ATO Shares Newly Bought by Investors Research Corp

Investors Research Corp bought a new position in Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO) in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor bought 4,509 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $705,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in Atmos Energy during the second quarter valued at approximately $2,624,975,000. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new position in shares of Atmos Energy during the second quarter worth approximately $720,212,000. Deutsche Bank AG purchased a new position in shares of Atmos Energy during the second quarter worth approximately $431,677,000. Legal & General Group Plc bought a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $276,558,000. Finally, GQG Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $202,443,000. Institutional investors own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Atmos Energy

In other news, Director William Ware bought 300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the acquisition, the director owned 488 shares in the company, valued at approximately $81,783.92. This trade represents a 159.57% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.43% of the company’s stock.

Atmos Energy Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of Atmos Energy stock traded down $0.42 on Wednesday, hitting $159.32. The stock had a trading volume of 1,533,340 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,230,304. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. Atmos Energy Corporation has a one year low of $154.72 and a one year high of $192.51. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $165.71 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $174.19. The stock has a market cap of $26.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.97, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.57.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.08. The company 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 prior year, the business posted $1.16 EPS. Atmos Energy has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.400-8.500 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Atmos Energy Corporation will post 8.46 EPS for the current year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 24th were paid a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 24th. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 47.62%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on ATO. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on shares of Atmos Energy in a report on Monday, July 13th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $200.00 target price on the stock. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Atmos Energy in a research note on Friday, August 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and set a $180.00 price target (down from $198.00) on shares of Atmos Energy in a research report on Friday, September 11th. Barclays reduced their price objective on Atmos Energy from $184.00 to $183.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Atmos Energy from $190.00 to $179.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 18th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Atmos Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $183.58.

Atmos Energy Company Profile

Atmos Energy Corporation is a regulated natural gas distribution and pipeline company headquartered in Dallas, Texas. The company delivers natural gas to residential, commercial, industrial and institutional customers and is one of the largest natural gas distributors in the United States.

Atmos Energy operates through two primary businesses: natural gas distribution and pipeline and storage operations. Its distribution activities include acquiring, transporting, storing and delivering natural gas, while its pipeline operations provide transportation and storage services and support the company’s distribution network.

The company serves customers across eight states, including Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Colorado, Kansas, Kentucky, Tennessee and Virginia.