Sterling Capital Management LLC Sells 4,099 Shares of Atmos Energy Corporation $ATO

Sterling Capital Management LLC trimmed its position in shares of Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO) by 43.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 5,389 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 4,099 shares during the quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $995,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Atmos Energy by 3.7% during the first quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,021 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,482,000 after purchasing an additional 283 shares in the last quarter. Maridea Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Atmos Energy in the first quarter worth about $202,000. Colony Family Offices LLC bought a new position in shares of Atmos Energy in the first quarter worth about $210,000. AA Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 8.4% in the first quarter. AA Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,757 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $325,000 after buying an additional 136 shares during the period. Finally, Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new position in shares of Atmos Energy during the 1st quarter valued at about $1,552,000. 90.17% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Atmos Energy Price Performance

Atmos Energy stock opened at $172.36 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $28.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.60. 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 Corporation has a 1 year low of $149.98 and a 1 year high of $192.51. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $176.30 and a two-hundred day moving average of $176.66.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $3.47 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.37 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $1.96 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.94 billion. Atmos Energy had a return on equity of 9.59% and a net margin of 27.58%.During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.03 earnings per share. Atmos Energy has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.400-8.500 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Atmos Energy Corporation will post 8.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 8th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 26th were issued a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 26th. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 49.14%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Atmos Energy from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $182.00 to $191.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $167.00 to $184.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Mizuho dropped their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $192.00 to $184.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 29th. Finally, Truist Financial cut their price target on Atmos Energy from $195.00 to $187.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $182.60.

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.