Magellan Asset Management Ltd Buys 14,304 Shares of Atmos Energy Corporation $ATO

Magellan Asset Management Ltd grew its stake in shares of Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO) by 12.3% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 130,563 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 14,304 shares during the period. Magellan Asset Management Ltd’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $22,294,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of ATO. W.H. Cornerstone Investments Inc. raised its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 16.7% in the second quarter. W.H. Cornerstone Investments Inc. now owns 7,625 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,175,000 after buying an additional 1,093 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 206.8% during the 3rd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 26,925 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,597,000 after acquiring an additional 18,148 shares during the period. Allstate Corp purchased a new stake in Atmos Energy in the 3rd quarter worth about $961,000. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund increased its holdings in Atmos Energy by 33.8% in the 3rd quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 18,332 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,130,000 after acquiring an additional 4,636 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich raised its stake in Atmos Energy by 267.0% in the 2nd quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 2,822 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $435,000 after acquiring an additional 2,053 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Sean Donohue sold 450 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.15, for a total transaction of $77,017.50. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 877 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $150,098.55. This trade represents a 33.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.43% of the company’s stock.

Atmos Energy Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of ATO opened at $182.14 on Wednesday. Atmos Energy Corporation has a 1-year low of $141.59 and a 1-year high of $182.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The company has a market capitalization of $30.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.65, a P/E/G ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 0.75. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $170.62 and its 200 day simple moving average is $170.58.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The utilities provider reported $2.44 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.41 by $0.03. Atmos Energy had a return on equity of 9.20% and a net margin of 25.67%.The business had revenue of $1.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.21 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.23 earnings per share. Atmos Energy has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.150-8.350 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Atmos Energy Corporation will post 7.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 9th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 23rd will be paid a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 23rd. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 51.95%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on ATO. Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 2nd. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $163.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Atmos Energy in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Barclays increased their target price on Atmos Energy from $165.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, February 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $175.67.

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.