Magellan Asset Management Ltd Buys Shares of 186,934 Atmos Energy Corporation $ATO

Magellan Asset Management Ltd acquired a new stake in Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 186,934 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $32,203,000. Magellan Asset Management Ltd owned approximately 0.11% of Atmos Energy at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in ATO. Brighton Jones LLC purchased a new stake in Atmos Energy during the 4th quarter worth about $233,000. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC raised its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 10.8% during the 1st quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 3,168 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $490,000 after buying an additional 308 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its holdings in Atmos Energy by 8.3% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 17,312 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,676,000 after buying an additional 1,331 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in Atmos Energy by 8.5% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 3,117 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $482,000 after purchasing an additional 245 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Woodline Partners LP raised its holdings in Atmos Energy by 43.9% in the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 13,410 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,073,000 after acquiring an additional 4,088 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director William James Ware bought 300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $167.59 per share, for a total transaction of $50,277.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 488 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $81,783.92. This represents a 159.57% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.43% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Atmos Energy Stock Performance

ATO opened at $167.16 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The business’s 50 day moving average is $173.57 and its 200-day moving average is $178.34. The stock has a market cap of $28.25 billion, a PE ratio of 19.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.60. Atmos Energy Corporation has a twelve month low of $160.10 and a twelve month high of $192.51.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $879.06 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $900.82 million. Atmos Energy had a return on equity of 9.67% and a net margin of 28.50%.During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.16 EPS. Atmos Energy has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.400-8.500 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Atmos Energy Corporation will post 8.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 8th. Investors of record on Monday, August 24th will be paid a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 24th. Atmos Energy’s payout ratio is currently 47.56%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ATO has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. TD Cowen boosted their price target on Atmos Energy from $193.00 to $196.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $188.00 to $179.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 13th. Argus dropped their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $190.00 to $185.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. Mizuho reduced their price target 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, May 29th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Atmos Energy from $182.00 to $191.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $187.73.

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.