Dearborn Partners LLC Sells 8,004 Shares of Atmos Energy Corporation $ATO

Dearborn Partners LLC reduced its position in Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO) by 3.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 206,052 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 8,004 shares during the period. Atmos Energy accounts for about 1.7% of Dearborn Partners LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest position. Dearborn Partners LLC’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $34,540,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of ATO. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy in the 4th quarter valued at about $331,426,000. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 94.9% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 3,652,267 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $562,851,000 after buying an additional 1,778,653 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 26,269.9% in the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,033,701 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $173,279,000 after buying an additional 1,029,781 shares in the last quarter. PFA Pension Forsikringsaktieselskab bought a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy in the 4th quarter valued at about $107,729,000. Finally, Capital International Investors boosted its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 10,965,840 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,872,162,000 after buying an additional 359,780 shares in the last quarter. 90.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Atmos Energy Stock Up 1.5%

ATO stock opened at $170.50 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $182.00 and a 200 day moving average of $176.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $28.46 billion, a PE ratio of 20.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. Atmos Energy Corporation has a 52 week low of $149.98 and a 52 week high of $192.51.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $3.47 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.37 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $1.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.94 billion. Atmos Energy had a net margin of 27.58% and a return on equity of 9.59%. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.03 EPS. Atmos Energy has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.400-8.500 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Atmos Energy Corporation will post 8.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 8th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 26th will be paid a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 26th. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 49.14%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Atmos Energy from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Tuesday. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Atmos Energy from $182.00 to $191.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Morgan Stanley set a $183.00 price target on shares of Atmos Energy in a report on Thursday, May 21st. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of Atmos Energy from $193.00 to $196.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $181.90.

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.