Atmos Energy Corporation $ATO Position Raised by Wedmont Private Capital

Wedmont Private Capital increased its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO) by 999.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 13,151 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 11,955 shares during the quarter. Wedmont Private Capital’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $2,057,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ATO. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Atmos Energy during the second quarter worth approximately $2,624,975,000. Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in Atmos Energy by 11.0% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 4,199,433 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $775,719,000 after acquiring an additional 416,933 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG purchased a new stake in Atmos Energy in the second quarter valued at $431,677,000. Amundi lifted its position in Atmos Energy by 40.0% in the second quarter. Amundi now owns 1,823,714 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $314,171,000 after acquiring an additional 520,828 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new position in Atmos Energy in the second quarter valued at $276,558,000. 90.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director William Ware acquired 300 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $167.59 per share, for a total transaction of $50,277.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 488 shares in the company, valued at approximately $81,783.92. This represents a 159.57% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.43% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on ATO shares. Truist Financial cut their target price on Atmos Energy from $188.00 to $179.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. Wall Street Zen lowered Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Argus reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $185.00 price objective on shares of Atmos Energy in a research note on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Atmos Energy from $190.00 to $179.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 18th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $173.00 to $167.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 1st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $183.58.

Atmos Energy Stock Up 0.6%

ATO opened at $161.69 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $164.85 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $173.79. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The company has a market cap of $27.32 billion, a PE ratio of 19.25, a P/E/G ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.57. Atmos Energy Corporation has a 52 week low of $154.72 and a 52 week high of $192.51.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.43 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $879.06 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $900.82 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.16 EPS. Atmos Energy has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.400-8.500 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Atmos Energy Corporation will post 8.47 EPS for the current year.

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 8th. Investors of record on Monday, August 24th were issued a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 24th. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 47.62%.

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.