36,511 Shares in Atmos Energy Corporation $ATO Bought by Sapient Capital LLC

Sapient Capital LLC bought a new stake in Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 36,511 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $5,712,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of ATO. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in Atmos Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. Continuum Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of Atmos Energy in the 2nd quarter worth about $25,000. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 627.3% in the 2nd quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 160 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 138 shares during the last quarter. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Atmos Energy during the second quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Western Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Atmos Energy during the first quarter worth about $34,000. 90.17% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on ATO. Argus reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $185.00 price objective on shares of Atmos Energy in a research report on Tuesday. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on Atmos Energy from $173.00 to $167.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 1st. Wall Street Zen lowered Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on Atmos Energy in a research note on Monday, July 13th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $200.00 price target for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Atmos Energy from $190.00 to $179.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 18th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Atmos Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $183.58.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director William Ware bought 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, with a total value of $50,277.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 488 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $81,783.92. The trade was a 159.57% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.43% of the company’s stock.

Atmos Energy Stock Performance

Shares of Atmos Energy stock traded up $1.47 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $160.68. The company had a trading volume of 2,138,024 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,234,984. The firm has a market cap of $27.15 billion, a PE ratio of 19.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 0.57. Atmos Energy Corporation has a one year low of $154.72 and a one year high of $192.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.73. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $165.34 and a 200 day simple moving average of $174.01.

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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $879.06 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $900.82 million. Atmos Energy had a return on equity of 9.67% and a net margin of 28.50%.During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.16 EPS. Atmos Energy has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.400-8.500 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Atmos Energy Corporation will post 8.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 8th. Investors of record on Monday, August 24th were paid a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 24th. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. Atmos Energy’s payout ratio is currently 47.62%.

Atmos Energy Profile

Atmos Energy Corporation is a regulated natural gas distribution and pipeline company headquartered in Dallas, Texas. The company delivers natural gas to residential, commercial, industrial and institutional customers and is one of the largest natural gas distributors in the United States.

Atmos Energy operates through two primary businesses: natural gas distribution and pipeline and storage operations. Its distribution activities include acquiring, transporting, storing and delivering natural gas, while its pipeline operations provide transportation and storage services and support the company’s distribution network.

The company serves customers across eight states, including Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Colorado, Kansas, Kentucky, Tennessee and Virginia.