Excelsior Advisor Network LLC Takes $557,000 Position in Atmos Energy Corporation $ATO

Excelsior Advisor Network LLC purchased a new stake in Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO) during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm purchased 3,015 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $557,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Atmos Energy in the fourth quarter worth about $331,426,000. Bank of America Corp DE grew its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 94.9% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 3,652,267 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $562,851,000 after acquiring an additional 1,778,653 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 26,269.9% during the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,033,701 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $173,279,000 after acquiring an additional 1,029,781 shares during the period. Capital International Investors raised its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 8.5% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 11,893,826 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,993,968,000 after acquiring an additional 927,986 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PFA Pension Forsikringsaktieselskab bought a new position in shares of Atmos Energy in the 4th quarter worth approximately $107,729,000. 90.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ATO has been the topic of several research reports. Argus dropped their price target on Atmos Energy from $190.00 to $185.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. Citigroup increased their price objective on Atmos Energy from $182.00 to $191.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on shares of Atmos Energy in a report on Monday, July 13th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $200.00 target price on the stock. Mizuho decreased their price target on shares of Atmos Energy from $192.00 to $184.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $196.00 to $198.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $186.92.

Atmos Energy Price Performance

ATO opened at $178.26 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $173.75 and a 200-day moving average price of $177.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.89. The firm has a market cap of $29.76 billion, a PE ratio of 21.90, a P/E/G ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.60. Atmos Energy Corporation has a 1 year low of $154.23 and a 1 year high of $192.51.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $3.47 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.37 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $1.96 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.94 billion. Atmos Energy had a net margin of 27.58% and a return on equity of 9.59%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.03 EPS. Atmos Energy has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.400-8.500 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Atmos Energy Corporation will post 8.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 8th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 26th were given a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 26th. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 49.14%.

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.