Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) Hits New 12-Month High – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO) hit a new 52-week high on Monday . The company traded as high as $187.98 and last traded at $187.3060, with a volume of 434617 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $186.79.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on ATO shares. Mizuho upped their target price on Atmos Energy from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 2nd. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $165.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Morgan Stanley set a $192.00 target price on shares of Atmos Energy in a research note on Friday, February 20th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Atmos Energy from $159.00 to $174.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Atmos Energy to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $175.67.

Atmos Energy Stock Up 0.1%

The company has a market cap of $30.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.28, a P/E/G ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 0.74. The company’s 50-day moving average is $171.56 and its two-hundred day moving average is $170.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 1.02.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The utilities provider reported $2.44 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.41 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $1.34 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.21 billion. Atmos Energy had a return on equity of 9.20% and a net margin of 25.67%.During the same period last year, the business posted $2.23 EPS. Atmos Energy has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.150-8.350 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict 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. Investors of record on Monday, February 23rd will be issued a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 23rd. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.95%.

Insider Transactions at Atmos Energy

In other Atmos Energy news, Director Sean Donohue sold 450 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.15, for a total transaction of $77,017.50. Following the transaction, the director owned 877 shares in the company, valued at approximately $150,098.55. This represents a 33.91% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.43% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Atmos Energy in the fourth quarter worth about $331,426,000. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 1,778,653 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 26,269.9% in the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,033,701 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $173,279,000 after buying an additional 1,029,781 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors grew its position in Atmos Energy by 8.5% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 11,893,826 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,993,968,000 after buying an additional 927,986 shares during the period. Finally, PFA Pension Forsikringsaktieselskab purchased a new stake in Atmos Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $107,729,000. Institutional investors own 90.17% 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.