40,425 Atmos Energy Corporation $ATO Shares Acquired by ProShare Advisors LLC

ProShare Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO) by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 965,250 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 40,425 shares during the quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $151,004,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in Atmos Energy during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $2,624,975,000. Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in Atmos Energy by 11.0% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 4,199,433 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $775,719,000 after acquiring an additional 416,933 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG purchased a new position in Atmos Energy in the 2nd quarter worth $431,677,000. Amundi lifted its position in Atmos Energy by 40.0% during the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 1,823,714 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $314,171,000 after acquiring an additional 520,828 shares during the period. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new stake in Atmos Energy during the 2nd quarter worth about $276,558,000. 90.17% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director William Ware acquired 300 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $167.59 per share, for a total transaction of $50,277.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 488 shares in the company, valued at approximately $81,783.92. This represents a 159.57% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.43% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ATO has been the topic of a number of research reports. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on Atmos Energy from $173.00 to $167.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 1st. Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on Atmos Energy in a research report on Monday, July 13th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $200.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of Atmos Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $198.00 to $180.00 in a report on Friday, September 11th. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $179.00 to $174.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 15th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Atmos Energy has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $183.27.

Atmos Energy Stock Performance

NYSE ATO opened at $172.53 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $29.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.54, a PEG ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.57. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $164.16 and a 200 day moving average of $174.11. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. Atmos Energy Corporation has a twelve month low of $154.72 and a twelve month high of $192.51.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.08. Atmos Energy had a return on equity of 9.67% and a net margin of 28.50%. The business had revenue of $879.06 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $900.82 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.16 EPS. Atmos Energy has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.400-8.500 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Atmos Energy Corporation will post 8.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 8th. Investors of record on Monday, August 24th were paid a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 24th. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 47.62%.

About Atmos Energy

Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO) is a regulated natural gas utility that distributes natural gas to residential, commercial, industrial and agricultural customers. The company also operates natural gas pipeline and storage assets, supporting the transportation and management of gas within its service areas.

Atmos Energy serves more than 3 million distribution customers across eight states, including Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee, Kentucky, Virginia, Kansas and Colorado. Its distribution operations include a large network of natural gas pipelines and related infrastructure, while its pipeline and storage business provides transportation and storage services primarily in Texas and Mississippi.

The company traces its history to 1906 and is headquartered in Dallas, Texas.