West Family Investments Inc. Takes Position in Atmos Energy Corporation $ATO

West Family Investments Inc. bought a new position in shares of Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO) in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 4,629 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $797,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Continuum Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in Atmos Energy in the second quarter worth $25,000. Kingdom Financial Group LLC. bought a new stake in Atmos Energy in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in Atmos Energy by 627.3% during the 2nd quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 160 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 138 shares during the period. Finally, Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Atmos Energy in the 2nd quarter worth $28,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

Atmos Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ATO traded up $0.60 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $168.16. 773,722 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,246,856. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $172.74 and a 200-day simple moving average of $177.80. Atmos Energy Corporation has a 52-week low of $160.10 and a 52-week high of $192.51. The stock 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. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.43 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $900.82 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.16 earnings per share. Atmos Energy has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.400-8.500 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Atmos Energy Corporation will post 8.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 24th will be issued a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is 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 currently 47.56%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ATO has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Atmos Energy in a research report on Friday, August 28th. Truist Financial dropped their price target on Atmos Energy from $188.00 to $179.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Atmos Energy from $196.00 to $198.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Argus dropped their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $190.00 to $185.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Atmos Energy from $184.00 to $183.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $187.73.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director William Ware bought 300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $167.59 per share, with a total value of $50,277.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 488 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $81,783.92. This trade represents a 159.57% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.43% of the company’s stock.

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.