Wakefield Asset Management LLLP Acquires Shares of 9,593 Atmos Energy Corporation $ATO

Wakefield Asset Management LLLP acquired a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 9,593 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,608,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Atmos Energy by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,032,554 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,525,687,000 after purchasing an additional 276,485 shares during the period. Capital International Investors increased its position in Atmos Energy by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 10,965,840 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,872,162,000 after purchasing an additional 359,780 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,630,522 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,815,162,000 after buying an additional 356,942 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE grew its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 3,737,053 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $638,102,000 after buying an additional 84,786 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,099,360 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $529,216,000 after acquiring an additional 17,022 shares in the last quarter. 90.17% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Atmos Energy from $167.00 to $184.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Atmos Energy from $197.00 to $195.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Truist Financial assumed coverage on shares of Atmos Energy in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. They issued a “hold” rating and a $195.00 price target for the company. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Atmos Energy from $182.00 to $191.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Atmos Energy from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $183.50.

Atmos Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ATO opened at $176.48 on Friday. Atmos Energy Corporation has a 1-year low of $149.98 and a 1-year high of $192.51. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $185.27 and a 200-day moving average price of $177.02. The company has a market capitalization of $29.46 billion, a PE ratio of 21.68, a PEG ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.89.

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. Atmos Energy had a net margin of 27.58% and a return on equity of 9.59%. The company had revenue of $1.96 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.94 billion. 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. As a group, equities analysts expect that Atmos Energy Corporation will post 8.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 8th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 26th will be given a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 26th. 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.