Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Purchases New Shares in Atmos Energy Corporation $ATO

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new stake in Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 53,090 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $9,146,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of Atmos Energy during the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,624,975,000. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new position in shares of Atmos Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $720,212,000. Deutsche Bank AG bought a new stake in Atmos Energy during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $431,677,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Atmos Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $331,426,000. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new stake in Atmos Energy during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $276,558,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

Atmos Energy Trading Down 0.2%

NYSE:ATO opened at $166.36 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $28.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.60. Atmos Energy Corporation has a twelve month low of $160.10 and a twelve month high of $192.51. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $173.31 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $178.17. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $879.06 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $900.82 million. Atmos Energy had a net margin of 28.50% and a return on equity of 9.67%. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.16 earnings per share. Atmos Energy has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.400-8.500 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Atmos Energy Corporation will post 8.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on ATO. TD Cowen upped 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. Argus dropped their price objective 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. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on shares of Atmos Energy in a research note on Monday, July 13th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $200.00 target price for the company. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut Atmos Energy from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $187.73.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Atmos Energy news, Director William James Ware purchased 300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $167.59 per share, with a total value of $50,277.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 488 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $81,783.92. This represents a 159.57% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.43% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.