Norges Bank Purchases Shares of 1,977,131 Atmos Energy Corporation $ATO

Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm purchased 1,977,131 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $331,426,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. TABR Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Atmos Energy during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,096,000. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd lifted its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 133.1% during the third quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd now owns 39,904 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $6,814,000 after purchasing an additional 22,784 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 12.6% during the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 182,173 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $30,853,000 after purchasing an additional 20,408 shares in the last quarter. Calton & Associates Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Atmos Energy during the third quarter worth approximately $901,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 186.6% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 77,177 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $12,937,000 after purchasing an additional 50,252 shares in the last quarter. 90.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Atmos Energy Stock Down 1.0%

Shares of NYSE:ATO opened at $167.42 on Tuesday. Atmos Energy Corporation has a 52 week low of $149.98 and a 52 week high of $192.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 1.00. The company has a market capitalization of $27.95 billion, a PE ratio of 20.57, a PEG ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $182.97 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $177.09.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last issued its earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $1.96 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.94 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.03 earnings per share. Atmos Energy has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.400-8.500 EPS. Analysts forecast that Atmos Energy Corporation will post 8.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 8th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 26th will be paid a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 26th. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 49.14%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on ATO shares. Mizuho reduced their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $192.00 to $184.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Atmos Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $182.00 to $191.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Morgan Stanley set a $183.00 price target on shares of Atmos Energy in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Finally, Barclays boosted 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $181.90.

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.