Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) Sets New 1-Year High – What’s Next?

Shares of Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $188.80 and last traded at $188.13, with a volume of 201054 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $184.30.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on ATO. UBS Group raised their price objective on Atmos Energy from $159.00 to $174.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Morgan Stanley set a $192.00 price objective on Atmos Energy in a report on Friday, February 20th. Mizuho increased their target price on Atmos Energy from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 2nd. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Atmos Energy in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Atmos Energy to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $175.67.

Atmos Energy Trading Up 2.2%

The company has a 50-day moving average price of $174.33 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $172.02. The stock has a market cap of $31.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.47, a P/E/G ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67.

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

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 9th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 23rd were paid a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 23rd. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 51.95%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Atmos Energy

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Root Financial Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Atmos Energy in the third quarter worth $25,000. Garner Asset Management Corp bought a new position in shares of Atmos Energy in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Atmos Energy by 85.9% in the 4th quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 158 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 73 shares during the period. Kingdom Financial Group LLC. bought a new stake in Atmos Energy during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Finally, Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. purchased a new stake in Atmos Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

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.