Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO) Sees Large Decrease in Short Interest

Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO) was the target of a significant decrease in short interest in the month of January. As of January 30th, there was short interest totaling 3,856,246 shares, a decrease of 13.8% from the January 15th total of 4,475,871 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,173,910 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.8 days. Approximately 2.3% of the company’s shares are short sold. Approximately 2.3% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,173,910 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.8 days.

Insider Buying and Selling at Atmos Energy

In other Atmos Energy news, Director Sean Donohue sold 450 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.15, for a total value of $77,017.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 877 shares in the company, valued at approximately $150,098.55. This represents a 33.91% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.43% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Atmos Energy

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Root Financial Partners LLC acquired a new position in Atmos Energy during the third quarter worth $25,000. Garner Asset Management Corp bought a new position in Atmos Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Atmos Energy by 85.9% in the 4th quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 158 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Kingdom Financial Group LLC. bought a new position in Atmos Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Finally, Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. bought a new position in Atmos Energy in the third quarter valued at about $29,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on ATO shares. Barclays upped their price target on Atmos Energy from $165.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Wall Street Zen cut Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, February 7th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $163.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Mizuho increased their price target on shares of Atmos Energy from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 2nd. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on Atmos Energy from $159.00 to $174.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Atmos Energy presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $174.33.

Atmos Energy Stock Performance

Shares of ATO traded up $1.15 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $180.40. 278,657 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,502,505. Atmos Energy has a twelve month low of $141.59 and a twelve month high of $181.01. The company has a market capitalization of $29.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.42, a PEG ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 0.75. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $169.13 and its 200 day moving average price is $169.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 1.02.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 3rd. The utilities provider reported $2.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.41 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $1.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.21 billion. Atmos Energy had a return on equity of 9.20% and a net margin of 25.67%.During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.23 earnings per share. Atmos Energy has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.150-8.350 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Atmos Energy will post 7.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 9th. Investors of record on Monday, February 23rd will be issued a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 23rd. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.95%.

About Atmos Energy

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.