Daiichi Life Insurance Co. Ltd. Takes $6.20 Million Position in Atmos Energy Corporation $ATO

Daiichi Life Insurance Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 35,960 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $6,195,000.

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

Insider Transactions at Atmos Energy

In other Atmos Energy news, Director William James Ware bought 300 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $167.59 per share, with a total value of $50,277.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 488 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $81,783.92. This represents a 159.57% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.43% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Atmos Energy Stock Down 2.0%

Atmos Energy stock opened at $167.16 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $28.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.88, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.73. Atmos Energy Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $160.10 and a fifty-two week high of $192.51. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $173.57 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $178.26.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $879.06 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $900.82 million. Atmos Energy had a return on equity of 9.67% and a net margin of 28.50%.During the same period last year, the business posted $1.16 earnings per share. Atmos Energy has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.400-8.500 EPS. As a group, 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 paid a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 24th. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 47.56%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Mizuho decreased their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $192.00 to $184.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 29th. Truist Financial lowered their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $188.00 to $179.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Atmos Energy from $196.00 to $198.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on Atmos Energy in a research report on Monday, July 13th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $200.00 price target for the company. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Atmos Energy has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $187.73.

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.