Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) Director William James Ware Buys 300 Shares of Stock

Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO) Director William James Ware purchased 300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $167.59 per share, for a total transaction of $50,277.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 488 shares in the company, valued at $81,783.92. The trade was a 159.57% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink.

Atmos Energy Price Performance

ATO traded up $0.10 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $169.31. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 408,601 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,277,094. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $28.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.60. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $173.39 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $178.16. Atmos Energy Corporation has a 12 month low of $160.10 and a 12 month high of $192.51.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.08. Atmos Energy had a return on equity of 9.67% and a net margin of 28.50%.The company had revenue of $879.06 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $900.82 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $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 Corporation will post 8.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on shares of Atmos Energy in a research report on Monday, July 13th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $200.00 target price on the stock. Argus lowered their price target on shares of Atmos Energy from $190.00 to $185.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. Mizuho dropped their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $192.00 to $184.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Atmos Energy from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on Atmos Energy from $184.00 to $183.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $189.09.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ATO. Garner Asset Management Corp acquired a new position in Atmos Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Atmos Energy during the 2nd quarter worth $25,000. Kingdom Financial Group LLC. bought a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 627.3% during the 2nd quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 160 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 138 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Elevated Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Atmos Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Institutional investors own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

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.