National Pension Service Increases Stock Position in Atmos Energy Corporation $ATO

National Pension Service boosted its holdings in Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO) by 2.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 250,465 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,778 shares during the quarter. National Pension Service’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $43,148,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy in the second quarter worth approximately $2,624,975,000. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. bought a new position in Atmos Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,582,000. Opal Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Atmos Energy in the first quarter worth approximately $6,154,000. Entropy Technologies LP bought a new stake in Atmos Energy in the 1st quarter worth approximately $2,558,000. Finally, Phillips Financial Management LLC bought a new stake in Atmos Energy in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,613,000. 90.17% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director William Ware acquired 300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 488 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $81,783.92. This represents a 159.57% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.43% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on Atmos Energy in a report on Monday, July 13th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $200.00 price target on the stock. Wall Street Zen lowered Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Atmos Energy from $196.00 to $190.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 21st. Truist Financial lowered their target price on Atmos Energy from $188.00 to $179.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $180.00 target price (down from $198.00) on shares of Atmos Energy in a research report on Friday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $186.09.

Atmos Energy Stock Down 0.9%

ATO opened at $163.27 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. Atmos Energy Corporation has a 1-year low of $160.10 and a 1-year high of $192.51. The company has a market capitalization of $27.59 billion, a PE ratio of 19.41, a PEG ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.60. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $172.03 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $177.43.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.08. Atmos Energy had a return on equity of 9.67% and a net margin of 28.50%.The firm had revenue of $879.06 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $900.82 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.16 EPS. Atmos Energy has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.400-8.500 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Atmos Energy Corporation will post 8.46 EPS for the current year.

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

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

Atmos Energy Profile

Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO) is a regulated natural gas distribution and pipeline company headquartered in Dallas, Texas. Through its utility operations, the company delivers natural gas to residential, commercial, industrial and agricultural customers, with services focused on safe and reliable energy delivery.

Atmos Energy serves customers across eight states: Colorado, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia. Its operations include local natural gas distribution as well as pipeline transportation and storage activities, primarily through its Atmos Pipeline-Texas business.

The company traces its roots to 1906 and has expanded over time through growth and acquisitions in the natural gas industry.