Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) Reaches New 1-Year High After Analyst Upgrade

Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday after Barclays raised their price target on the stock from $167.00 to $184.00. Barclays currently has an equal weight rating on the stock. Atmos Energy traded as high as $190.86 and last traded at $191.16, with a volume of 18809 shares. The stock had previously closed at $189.66.

ATO has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Morgan Stanley set a $192.00 price target on Atmos Energy in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Wall Street Zen raised Atmos Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 7th. UBS Group increased their target price on Atmos Energy from $159.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Citigroup raised their target price on Atmos Energy from $163.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Atmos Energy in a report on Monday, December 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $177.56.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Atmos Energy

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its stake in Atmos Energy by 206.8% in the third quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 26,925 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,597,000 after purchasing an additional 18,148 shares during the last quarter. Allstate Corp bought a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy during the third quarter valued at approximately $961,000. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund raised its stake in Atmos Energy by 33.8% in the third quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 18,332 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,130,000 after buying an additional 4,636 shares in the last quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd raised its stake in Atmos Energy by 133.1% in the third quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd now owns 39,904 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $6,814,000 after buying an additional 22,784 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Calton & Associates Inc. purchased a new position in Atmos Energy in the third quarter worth $901,000. 90.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Atmos Energy Stock Up 0.9%

The stock has a market capitalization of $31.66 billion, a PE ratio of 24.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $181.39 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $174.89.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The utilities provider reported $2.44 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.41 by $0.03. Atmos Energy had a net margin of 25.67% and a return on equity of 9.20%. The firm had revenue of $1.34 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.21 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.23 EPS. Atmos Energy has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.150-8.350 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Atmos Energy Corporation will post 7.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 9th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 23rd were issued a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 23rd. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Atmos Energy’s payout ratio is presently 51.95%.

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.