Atmos Energy Corporation $ATO Shares Sold by KBC Group NV

KBC Group NV trimmed its stake in Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO) by 4.7% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 312,868 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 15,317 shares during the period. KBC Group NV’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $48,216,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Brighton Jones LLC purchased a new position in Atmos Energy in the 4th quarter worth about $233,000. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 6.7% in the first quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC now owns 39,745 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $6,144,000 after buying an additional 2,510 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System increased its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 2.4% in the first quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 8,500 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,314,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC raised its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 1.9% during the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 9,610 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,485,000 after acquiring an additional 182 shares during the period. Finally, Sigma Planning Corp boosted its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 16.5% in the first quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 3,963 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $613,000 after buying an additional 561 shares during the period. 90.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on ATO. Wall Street Zen raised Atmos Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, August 17th. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $159.00 target price (up previously from $146.00) on shares of Atmos Energy in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Mizuho increased their price target on shares of Atmos Energy from $164.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $167.00 to $181.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Finally, Barclays set a $175.00 price target on Atmos Energy in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $170.44.

Atmos Energy Stock Performance

Shares of ATO stock opened at $177.81 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $28.54 billion, a PE ratio of 24.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.73. Atmos Energy Corporation has a one year low of $136.05 and a one year high of $180.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 1.25. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $171.43 and a 200-day moving average of $162.55.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.07 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.01 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $754.64 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $726.97 million. Atmos Energy had a net margin of 25.05% and a return on equity of 9.00%. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.08 EPS. Atmos Energy has set its FY 2025 guidance at 8.150-8.350 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Atmos Energy Corporation will post 7.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Atmos Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 8th. Investors of record on Monday, November 24th will be issued a dividend of $1.00 per share. This is a boost from Atmos Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.87. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 24th. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. Atmos Energy’s payout ratio is presently 53.40%.

Atmos Energy Profile

Atmos Energy Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the regulated natural gas distribution, and pipeline and storage businesses in the United States. It operates through two segments, Distribution, and Pipeline and Storage. The Distribution segment is involved in the regulated natural gas distribution and related sales operations in eight states.