IFM Investors Pty Ltd Lowers Stock Holdings in Atmos Energy Corporation $ATO

IFM Investors Pty Ltd reduced its stake in Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO) by 9.3% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 42,982 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 4,419 shares during the quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $7,940,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of ATO. Garner Asset Management Corp bought a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 85.9% in the fourth quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 158 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the period. Kingdom Financial Group LLC. bought a new position in Atmos Energy in the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Atmos Energy by 270.2% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Elevated Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Atmos Energy during the 4th quarter worth $32,000. 90.17% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Atmos Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ATO opened at $176.66 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $29.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.60. Atmos Energy Corporation has a 52 week low of $150.51 and a 52 week high of $192.51. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $175.91 and a 200 day moving average of $176.77.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $3.47 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.37 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $1.96 billion during 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 in the prior year, the business earned $3.03 earnings per share. Atmos Energy has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.400-8.500 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Atmos Energy Corporation will post 8.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

ATO has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. TD Cowen lifted their target price on Atmos Energy from $193.00 to $196.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Barclays increased their price target on Atmos Energy from $167.00 to $184.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Argus cut their price target on Atmos Energy from $190.00 to $185.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Wall Street Zen downgraded Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, June 19th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $182.00 to $191.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Atmos Energy presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $183.90.

Atmos Energy Profile

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.