Engineers Gate Manager LP Makes New Investment in Atmos Energy Corporation $ATO

Engineers Gate Manager LP bought a new stake in Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 78,123 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $13,458,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in ATO. Brighton Jones LLC purchased a new position in shares of Atmos Energy in the 4th quarter valued at about $233,000. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC boosted its holdings in Atmos Energy by 10.8% during the first quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 3,168 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $490,000 after buying an additional 308 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its holdings in Atmos Energy by 8.3% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 17,312 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,676,000 after buying an additional 1,331 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in Atmos Energy by 8.5% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 3,117 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $482,000 after buying an additional 245 shares during the period. Finally, Woodline Partners LP grew its position in Atmos Energy by 43.9% during the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 13,410 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,073,000 after buying an additional 4,088 shares during the period. 90.17% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Atmos Energy Stock Performance

Atmos Energy stock opened at $164.86 on Friday. Atmos Energy Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $160.10 and a fifty-two week high of $192.51. The company has a market capitalization of $27.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.60, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.60. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $172.29 and a two-hundred day moving average of $177.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 0.81.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $879.06 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $900.82 million. Atmos Energy had a return on equity of 9.67% and a net margin of 28.50%.During the same period 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. On average, analysts anticipate that Atmos Energy Corporation will post 8.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 24th were issued a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 24th. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 47.56%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on ATO. Truist Financial reduced their price target on shares of Atmos Energy from $188.00 to $179.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. Barclays lowered their price target on Atmos Energy from $184.00 to $183.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Argus dropped their price objective on Atmos Energy from $190.00 to $185.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Atmos Energy in a research report on Friday, August 28th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Atmos Energy from $196.00 to $198.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $187.73.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director William Ware purchased 300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $167.59 per share, with a total value of $50,277.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 488 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $81,783.92. This trade represents a 159.57% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.43% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Atmos Energy Profile

Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO) is a regulated natural gas distribution and pipeline company headquartered in Dallas, Texas. Through its utility operations, the company delivers natural gas to residential, commercial, industrial and agricultural customers, with services focused on safe and reliable energy delivery.

Atmos Energy serves customers across eight states: Colorado, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia. Its operations include local natural gas distribution as well as pipeline transportation and storage activities, primarily through its Atmos Pipeline-Texas business.

The company traces its roots to 1906 and has expanded over time through growth and acquisitions in the natural gas industry.