BNP Paribas Financial Markets Purchases 50,853 Shares of Atmos Energy Corporation $ATO

BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its position in shares of Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO) by 19.0% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 318,227 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 50,853 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets’ holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $53,344,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of ATO. Garner Asset Management Corp bought a new position in shares of Atmos Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 85.9% during the fourth quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 158 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Kingdom Financial Group LLC. bought a new position in shares of Atmos Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 270.2% during the fourth quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC now owns 174 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Elevated Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Atmos Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. 90.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Atmos Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ATO opened at $168.50 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. Atmos Energy Corporation has a 12 month low of $149.98 and a 12 month high of $192.51. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $182.97 and a 200-day moving average of $177.09. The company has a market capitalization of $28.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.70, a P/E/G ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.60.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $3.47 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.37 by $0.10. Atmos Energy had a return on equity of 9.59% and a net margin of 27.58%.The company had revenue of $1.96 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.94 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.03 EPS. Atmos Energy has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.400-8.500 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Atmos Energy Corporation will post 8.44 EPS for the current year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 8th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 26th will be paid a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 26th. Atmos Energy’s payout ratio is currently 49.14%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on ATO. Wall Street Zen downgraded Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley set a $183.00 price target on Atmos Energy in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Citigroup raised their price target on Atmos Energy from $182.00 to $191.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. TD Cowen raised their price target on Atmos Energy from $193.00 to $196.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Finally, Truist Financial decreased their price target on Atmos Energy from $195.00 to $187.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus 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.