5,706 Shares in Atmos Energy Corporation $ATO Bought by Westwind Capital

Westwind Capital bought a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO) during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm bought 5,706 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $893,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of ATO. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Atmos Energy in the second quarter worth $2,624,975,000. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 11.0% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 4,199,433 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $775,719,000 after buying an additional 416,933 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG increased its holdings in Atmos Energy by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 2,887,367 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $484,009,000 after buying an additional 47,860 shares in the last quarter. Amundi raised its position in Atmos Energy by 40.0% in the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 1,823,714 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $314,171,000 after buying an additional 520,828 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new position in Atmos Energy in the 2nd quarter worth about $276,558,000. Institutional investors own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on ATO. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Atmos Energy in a report on Friday, August 28th. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on shares of Atmos Energy in a report on Monday, July 13th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $200.00 price objective for the company. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $184.00 to $183.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on Atmos Energy from $173.00 to $167.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 1st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $183.58.

Atmos Energy Stock Performance

ATO stock traded up $1.47 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $160.68. 2,138,024 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,234,984. 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 52-week low of $154.72 and a 52-week high of $192.51. The stock has a market cap of $27.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.13, a PEG ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 0.57. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $165.34 and its 200 day moving average is $174.01.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last issued its quarterly 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 net margin of 28.50% and a return on equity of 9.67%. The business had revenue of $879.06 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $900.82 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.16 EPS. Atmos Energy has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.400-8.500 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Atmos Energy Corporation will post 8.47 EPS for the current year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 24th were issued a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 24th. Atmos Energy’s payout ratio is currently 47.62%.

Insider Transactions at Atmos Energy

In related news, Director William Ware purchased 300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $167.59 per share, with a total value of $50,277.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 488 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $81,783.92. This trade represents a 159.57% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.43% of the company’s stock.

Atmos Energy Company Profile

Atmos Energy Corporation is a regulated natural gas distribution and pipeline company headquartered in Dallas, Texas. The company delivers natural gas to residential, commercial, industrial and institutional customers and is one of the largest natural gas distributors in the United States.

Atmos Energy operates through two primary businesses: natural gas distribution and pipeline and storage operations. Its distribution activities include acquiring, transporting, storing and delivering natural gas, while its pipeline operations provide transportation and storage services and support the company’s distribution network.

The company serves customers across eight states, including Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Colorado, Kansas, Kentucky, Tennessee and Virginia.