Squarepoint Ops LLC Buys 99,201 Shares of Atmos Energy Corporation $ATO

Squarepoint Ops LLC grew its position in Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO) by 253.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 138,416 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 99,201 shares during the period. Squarepoint Ops LLC owned about 0.08% of Atmos Energy worth $23,845,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its position in Atmos Energy by 6,920.2% in the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 33,258,618 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,729,462,000 after buying an additional 32,784,865 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Atmos Energy in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,624,975,000. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new stake in Atmos Energy during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $720,212,000. Deutsche Bank AG acquired a new stake in Atmos Energy during the 2nd quarter valued at $431,677,000. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in Atmos Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $331,426,000. Institutional investors own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on ATO. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Atmos Energy in a report on Friday, August 28th. Argus lowered their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $190.00 to $185.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $196.00 to $190.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 21st. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Atmos Energy from $196.00 to $198.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Atmos Energy has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $187.73.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director William Ware bought 300 shares of Atmos Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $167.59 per share, with a total value of $50,277.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 488 shares in the company, valued at approximately $81,783.92. This trade represents a 159.57% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.43% of the company’s stock.

Atmos Energy Price Performance

Shares of ATO opened at $168.16 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $172.66 and a 200 day simple moving average of $177.73. Atmos Energy Corporation has a 52-week low of $160.10 and a 52-week high of $192.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 0.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $28.42 billion, a PE ratio of 20.00, a P/E/G ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.60.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $879.06 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $900.82 million. Atmos Energy had a net margin of 28.50% and a return on equity of 9.67%. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.16 EPS. Atmos Energy has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.400-8.500 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Atmos Energy Corporation will post 8.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 8th. Investors of record on Monday, August 24th were given a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 24th. Atmos Energy’s payout ratio is currently 47.56%.

Atmos Energy Company Profile

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.