Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) Cut to “Sell” at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen cut shares of Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley set a $196.00 target price on Atmos Energy in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on Atmos Energy in a report on Monday, July 13th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $200.00 target price for the company. Barclays decreased their price target on Atmos Energy from $184.00 to $183.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Atmos Energy from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $196.00 to $198.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Four 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, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $186.92.

Atmos Energy Price Performance

Shares of ATO stock opened at $172.47 on Monday. Atmos Energy has a 1 year low of $155.56 and a 1 year high of $192.51. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $173.38 and its 200-day moving average is $178.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $28.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.19, a PEG ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $879.06 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $909.06 million. Atmos Energy had a net margin of 27.58% and a return on equity of 9.59%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.16 earnings per share. Atmos Energy has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.400-8.500 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Atmos Energy will post 8.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Garner Asset Management Corp purchased a new stake in Atmos Energy in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Kingdom Financial Group LLC. acquired a new position in shares of Atmos Energy in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 627.3% in the second quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 160 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 138 shares during the last quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 270.2% during the fourth quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC now owns 174 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Western Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy during the first quarter worth $34,000. 90.17% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Headlines Impacting Atmos Energy

Here are the key news stories impacting Atmos Energy this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Atmos Energy earned $1.43 per diluted share, exceeding the $1.34-$1.35 analyst consensus and rising from $1.16 a year earlier. Fiscal-year-to-date earnings reached $7.33 per share on $1.2 billion of net income. Atmos Energy Q3 earnings article
• Positive Sentiment: Management reaffirmed fiscal 2026 EPS guidance of $8.40 to $8.50, broadly in line with the $8.44 consensus, reducing concerns about a forecast reset. The company also implemented $355 million in annualized regulatory outcomes. Atmos Energy fiscal 2026 earnings release
• Positive Sentiment: The board declared a quarterly dividend of $1.00 per share, or $4.00 annualized—14.9% above fiscal 2025—and the company’s 171st consecutive quarterly dividend. Atmos Energy dividend announcement
• Neutral Sentiment: Atmos Energy spent $3.1 billion on capital projects through the first nine months, with more than 85% directed toward safety and reliability. Full-year capital expenditure guidance is approximately $4.2 billion, while available liquidity was $4.6 billion and the company maintained a 60% equity capitalization target.
• Neutral Sentiment: Institutional trading was mixed in the latest quarter, with 482 investors increasing positions and 439 reducing them. Reported congressional activity consisted of one sale and no purchases, but these signals are unlikely to materially affect the investment case.
• Negative Sentiment: Quarterly revenue of $879.1 million missed analysts’ $909.1 million estimate, creating a counterweight to the EPS beat. The revenue shortfall and ongoing capital-spending requirements may explain why the shares have not responded more strongly to the earnings report. Atmos Energy results summary

Atmos Energy Company 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.