Atmos Energy Corporation $ATO Stake Cut by Goldman Sachs Group Inc.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. reduced its holdings in Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO) by 4.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,246,422 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 64,423 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. owned about 0.75% of Atmos Energy worth $208,938,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of ATO. Garner Asset Management Corp purchased a new stake in Atmos Energy in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Atmos Energy by 85.9% in the 4th quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 158 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Kingdom Financial Group LLC. acquired a new position in Atmos Energy in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC increased its position in Atmos Energy by 270.2% in the 4th quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC now owns 174 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Elevated Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Atmos Energy in the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. 90.17% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ATO has been the topic of several research reports. Morgan Stanley set a $183.00 target price on Atmos Energy in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Weiss Ratings lowered Atmos Energy from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Truist Financial dropped their target price on Atmos Energy from $195.00 to $187.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 18th. Wall Street Zen lowered Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, TD Cowen upped their target price on Atmos Energy from $193.00 to $196.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Atmos Energy presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $181.90.

Atmos Energy Stock Performance

ATO opened at $170.50 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $28.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 0.60. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $182.00 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $176.87. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. Atmos Energy Corporation has a 12-month low of $149.98 and a 12-month high of $192.51.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $3.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.37 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $1.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.94 billion. Atmos Energy had a return on equity of 9.59% and a net margin of 27.58%.During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.03 EPS. Atmos Energy has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.400-8.500 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Atmos Energy Corporation will post 8.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 8th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 26th will be issued a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 26th. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.