Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Hold" by Brokerages

Key Points

• Analyst consensus: "Hold" — 12 analysts give Atmos Energy an average rating of Hold (10 holds, 2 strong buys) with a 12‑month average price target of $181.11, while some firms (Barclays, Citi) have recently raised targets and Truist initiated coverage at $195.
• Earnings and guidance — Atmos slightly beat Q results (EPS $2.44 vs $2.41; revenue $1.34B vs $1.21B) and set FY2026 guidance of $8.15–$8.35 EPS, roughly matching the sell‑side consensus of about $8.28.
• Dividend and ownership — The company pays a $1.00 quarterly dividend ($4.00 annual, ~2.2% yield; ~52% payout ratio) and is heavily institutionally owned (about 90.17%), with a market cap near $30.7B and a P/E around 24.

Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO - Get Free Report) has been assigned an average recommendation of "Hold" from the twelve analysts that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $181.1111.

Several research firms have recently commented on ATO. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Atmos Energy from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, March 7th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Atmos Energy from a "buy (b+)" rating to a "buy (a-)" rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Atmos Energy from $167.00 to $184.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Citigroup upped their price objective on Atmos Energy from $163.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Finally, Truist Financial began coverage on Atmos Energy in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. They issued a "hold" rating and a $195.00 price objective on the stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Atmos Energy

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Root Financial Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Atmos Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Garner Asset Management Corp acquired a new position in Atmos Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Kingdom Financial Group LLC. purchased a new position in Atmos Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Atmos Energy by 85.9% during the fourth quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 158 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Atmos Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. 90.17% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Atmos Energy Trading Up 0.0%

NYSE ATO opened at $185.47 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $30.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.09, a PEG ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 0.69. The firm's 50-day moving average is $185.04 and its two-hundred day moving average is $176.41. Atmos Energy has a 12 month low of $149.98 and a 12 month high of $192.51.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The utilities provider reported $2.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.41 by $0.03. Atmos Energy had a net margin of 25.67% and a return on equity of 9.20%. The business had revenue of $1.34 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.21 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.23 EPS. Atmos Energy has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.150-8.350 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Atmos Energy will post 8.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 9th. Investors of record on Monday, February 23rd were paid a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 23rd. Atmos Energy's dividend payout ratio is presently 51.95%.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.