Atmos Energy Corporation $ATO Position Lifted by Goelzer Investment Management Inc.

Goelzer Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO) by 408.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 34,291 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 27,549 shares during the period. Goelzer Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $5,364,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ATO. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Atmos Energy in the 2nd quarter worth about $2,624,975,000. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy during the 2nd quarter worth about $720,212,000. Deutsche Bank AG purchased a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy during the 2nd quarter worth about $431,677,000. Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy during the 2nd quarter worth about $276,558,000. Finally, GQG Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Atmos Energy during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $202,443,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Truist Financial cut their price target on shares of Atmos Energy from $179.00 to $174.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Atmos Energy in a research note on Friday, August 28th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $173.00 to $167.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 1st. Argus reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $185.00 price objective on shares of Atmos Energy in a research report on Tuesday, October 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $190.00 to $179.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 18th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $183.00.

Atmos Energy Trading Up 2.2%

Shares of ATO opened at $167.48 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $164.05 and its two-hundred day moving average is $173.16. The stock has a market cap of $28.30 billion, a PE ratio of 19.94, a P/E/G ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.57. Atmos Energy Corporation has a 12 month low of $154.72 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.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $879.06 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $900.82 million. Atmos Energy had a return on equity of 9.67% and a net margin of 28.50%. During the same quarter in the prior 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 forecast that Atmos Energy Corporation will post 8.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 24th were issued a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 24th. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 47.62%.

Insider Transactions at Atmos Energy

In other news, Director William Ware acquired 300 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was bought at an average price of $167.59 per share, with a total value of $50,277.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 488 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $81,783.92. The trade was a 159.57% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.43% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Atmos Energy 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.