Dearborn Partners LLC Makes New Investment in Atmos Energy Corporation $ATO

Dearborn Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 188,269 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $34,777,000. Atmos Energy comprises about 1.9% of Dearborn Partners LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest position.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy during the second quarter worth $2,624,975,000. Deutsche Bank AG acquired a new position in Atmos Energy in the second quarter valued at $431,677,000. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Atmos Energy in the fourth quarter valued at $331,426,000. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its position in Atmos Energy by 94.9% during the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 3,652,267 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $562,851,000 after buying an additional 1,778,653 shares during the period. Finally, GQG Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Atmos Energy in the 2nd quarter worth about $202,443,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $196.00 to $198.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $182.00 to $191.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Atmos Energy from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Mizuho cut their price target on shares of Atmos Energy from $192.00 to $184.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Atmos Energy from $196.00 to $190.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Atmos Energy has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $187.73.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Atmos Energy news, Director William James Ware purchased 300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $167.59 per share, with a total value of $50,277.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 488 shares in the company, valued at approximately $81,783.92. This trade represents a 159.57% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.43% of the company’s stock.

Atmos Energy Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of NYSE:ATO opened at $167.85 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $173.54 and a 200-day simple moving average of $178.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $28.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.96, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.60. Atmos Energy Corporation has a 1 year low of $160.10 and a 1 year 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.

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 the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.08. Atmos Energy had a net margin of 28.50% and a return on equity of 9.67%. The firm had revenue of $879.06 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $900.82 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $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 8.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 8th. Investors of record on Monday, August 24th will be issued a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 24th. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. Atmos Energy’s payout ratio is presently 47.56%.

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.