West Family Investments Inc. Takes $797,000 Position in Atmos Energy Corporation $ATO

West Family Investments Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO) in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 4,629 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $797,000.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. bought a new stake in Atmos Energy in the 4th quarter valued at about $34,582,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in Atmos Energy by 30.9% during the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 486,229 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $81,507,000 after purchasing an additional 114,836 shares during the period. Opal Capital LLC bought a new position in Atmos Energy in the 1st quarter worth about $6,154,000. Entropy Technologies LP bought a new position in Atmos Energy in the 1st quarter worth about $2,558,000. Finally, B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG increased its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 26.2% in the fourth quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG now owns 25,985 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,359,000 after purchasing an additional 5,400 shares during the period. 90.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Atmos Energy

In related news, Director William James Ware acquired 300 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $167.59 per share, with a total value of $50,277.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 488 shares in the company, valued at approximately $81,783.92. The trade was a 159.57% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.43% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. TD Cowen lifted their price target on Atmos Energy from $193.00 to $196.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Wall Street Zen lowered Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Barclays lowered their target price on Atmos Energy from $184.00 to $183.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on Atmos Energy in a research note on Monday, July 13th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $200.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Argus reduced their price target on Atmos Energy from $190.00 to $185.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $188.27.

Atmos Energy Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of NYSE:ATO opened at $171.16 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $173.57 and a 200 day simple moving average of $178.31. Atmos Energy Corporation has a 52 week low of $160.10 and a 52 week high of $192.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 0.81. The company has a market cap of $28.92 billion, a PE ratio of 20.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.60.

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

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

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

Atmos Energy Company Profile

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.