Clark Capital Management Group Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in Atmos Energy Corporation $ATO

Clark Capital Management Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO) by 1.9% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 324,042 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,182 shares during the period. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. owned about 0.20% of Atmos Energy worth $55,330,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of ATO. Root Financial Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Atmos Energy in the third quarter worth $25,000. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy during the third quarter valued at $29,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 105.4% in the third quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 191 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Atmos Energy in the 3rd quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Johnson Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Atmos Energy by 625.8% during the 3rd quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. now owns 225 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 194 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ATO has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Zacks Research raised Atmos Energy to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 18th. Barclays upped their target price on Atmos Energy from $165.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Atmos Energy from $159.00 to $174.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $163.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of Atmos Energy from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $175.67.

Atmos Energy Trading Up 1.0%

Shares of Atmos Energy stock opened at $188.65 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $175.09 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $172.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $31.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.50, a PEG ratio of 3.26 and a beta of 0.74. Atmos Energy Corporation has a 12-month low of $141.59 and a 12-month high of $189.32. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 3rd. The utilities provider reported $2.44 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.23 earnings per share. Atmos Energy has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.150-8.350 EPS. Analysts predict that Atmos Energy Corporation will post 7.18 EPS for the current year.

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 9th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 23rd were paid a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 23rd. Atmos Energy’s payout ratio is presently 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.