Atmos Energy Corporation $ATO Shares Purchased by Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd.

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO) by 5.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 352,122 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 19,571 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned about 0.22% of Atmos Energy worth $60,125,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in ATO. W.H. Cornerstone Investments Inc. increased its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 16.7% in the second quarter. W.H. Cornerstone Investments Inc. now owns 7,625 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,175,000 after acquiring an additional 1,093 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 206.8% during the 3rd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 26,925 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,597,000 after acquiring an additional 18,148 shares in the last quarter. Allstate Corp purchased a new stake in Atmos Energy during the 3rd quarter worth $961,000. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund increased its holdings in Atmos Energy by 33.8% in the 3rd quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 18,332 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,130,000 after purchasing an additional 4,636 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich raised its position in Atmos Energy by 267.0% in the second quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 2,822 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $435,000 after purchasing an additional 2,053 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on ATO shares. Citigroup upped their target price on Atmos Energy from $163.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Barclays boosted their price target on Atmos Energy from $165.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 7th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Atmos Energy to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 18th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $159.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. 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 issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $175.67.

Atmos Energy Stock Performance

Shares of ATO opened at $186.79 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $30.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.26, a PEG ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The business’s 50 day moving average is $171.56 and its two-hundred day moving average is $170.90. Atmos Energy Corporation has a 52-week low of $141.59 and a 52-week high of $187.82.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The utilities provider reported $2.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.41 by $0.03. The business 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 quarter 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. Analysts forecast that Atmos Energy Corporation will post 7.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity at Atmos Energy

In related news, Director Sean Donohue sold 450 shares of Atmos Energy stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.15, for a total value of $77,017.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 877 shares in the company, valued at approximately $150,098.55. This trade represents a 33.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.43% 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.