Empirical Asset Management LLC Acquires Shares of 3,723 Atmos Energy Corporation $ATO

Empirical Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 3,723 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $641,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in ATO. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,032,554 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,525,687,000 after purchasing an additional 276,485 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in Atmos Energy in the 2nd quarter worth about $2,624,975,000. Capital International Investors lifted its holdings in Atmos Energy by 8.5% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 11,893,826 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,993,968,000 after buying an additional 927,986 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its position in Atmos Energy by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,786,358 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,808,117,000 after buying an additional 155,836 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Atmos Energy by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,214,985 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $703,824,000 after buying an additional 78,438 shares during the period. 90.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Atmos Energy Trading Up 0.4%

NYSE ATO opened at $170.60 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The firm has a market cap of $28.83 billion, a PE ratio of 20.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $173.54 and a 200 day moving average price of $178.28. Atmos Energy Corporation has a 52 week low of $160.10 and a 52 week high of $192.51.

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

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 24th will be issued a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 24th. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 47.56%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Atmos Energy

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on ATO. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on shares of Atmos Energy in a research note on Monday, July 13th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $200.00 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley set a $196.00 price target on Atmos Energy in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. TD Cowen increased their price objective on Atmos Energy from $193.00 to $196.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Atmos Energy from $196.00 to $198.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Atmos Energy presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $188.27.

Atmos Energy 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.