PNC Financial Services Group Inc. Buys 58,330 Shares of Atmos Energy Corporation $ATO

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO) by 8.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 769,465 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 58,330 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. owned about 0.48% of Atmos Energy worth $131,386,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Aberdeen Group plc boosted its holdings in Atmos Energy by 8.1% during the 3rd quarter. Aberdeen Group plc now owns 201,638 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $34,188,000 after acquiring an additional 15,159 shares during the last quarter. Florida Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 36.4% during the third quarter. Florida Financial Advisors LLC now owns 5,357 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $915,000 after purchasing an additional 1,430 shares in the last quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 221.9% during the third quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,278 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $218,000 after purchasing an additional 881 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. boosted its holdings in Atmos Energy by 2.9% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 110,317 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $18,837,000 after purchasing an additional 3,115 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Public Sector Pension Investment Board grew its position in Atmos Energy by 5.8% in the 3rd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 34,776 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,938,000 after purchasing an additional 1,911 shares in the last quarter. 90.17% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Sean Donohue sold 450 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.15, for a total value of $77,017.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 877 shares in the company, valued at approximately $150,098.55. This represents a 33.91% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.43% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Atmos Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ATO opened at $179.16 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $168.89 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $169.53. Atmos Energy Corporation has a twelve month low of $141.59 and a twelve month high of $180.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $29.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.27, a P/E/G ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67.

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

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 9th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 23rd will be given a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 23rd. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.95%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 2nd. Citigroup lifted their price target on Atmos Energy from $163.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Atmos Energy from $159.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Barclays raised their target price on Atmos Energy from $165.00 to $167.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Atmos Energy presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $174.33.

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.