Westerkirk Capital Inc. Sells 4,232 Shares of Atmos Energy Corporation $ATO

Westerkirk Capital Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO) by 25.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 12,661 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 4,232 shares during the quarter. Westerkirk Capital Inc.’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $2,162,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Brighton Jones LLC bought a new position in shares of Atmos Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $233,000. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC grew its position in Atmos Energy by 10.8% during the 1st quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 3,168 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $490,000 after acquiring an additional 308 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its position in Atmos Energy by 8.3% during 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 acquiring an additional 1,331 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in Atmos Energy by 8.5% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 3,117 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $482,000 after purchasing an additional 245 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Woodline Partners LP raised its position 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 purchasing an additional 4,088 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on ATO. Mizuho boosted their price target on Atmos Energy from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 2nd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Atmos Energy in a report on Monday, December 29th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Atmos Energy from $159.00 to $174.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, February 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $192.00 price objective on Atmos Energy in a report on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Atmos Energy has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $175.67.

Insider Activity at Atmos Energy

In related news, Director Sean Donohue sold 450 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.15, for a total transaction of $77,017.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 877 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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 SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.43% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Atmos Energy Stock Up 1.1%

Shares of NYSE ATO opened at $180.91 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $170.13 and its 200-day moving average price is $170.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.13. Atmos Energy Corporation has a 52-week low of $141.59 and a 52-week high of $181.08. The company has a market capitalization of $29.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 0.75.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The utilities provider reported $2.44 earnings per share 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 the consensus estimate 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 last year, the firm earned $2.23 earnings per share. Atmos Energy has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.150-8.350 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Atmos Energy Corporation will post 7.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 23rd. Atmos Energy’s payout ratio is currently 51.95%.

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.