Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO) Receives Average Rating of "Hold" from Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts maintain a “Hold” consensus on Atmos Energy, with 10 hold ratings and four buys across 14 brokerages. The average 12-month price target is $186.92, above the reported $172.47 share price.
• Atmos Energy’s fiscal third-quarter EPS of $1.43 beat estimates and rose from $1.16 year over year, while management reaffirmed fiscal 2026 EPS guidance of $8.40–$8.50. However, quarterly revenue of $879.1 million fell short of the $909.1 million consensus.
• The company declared a $1.00 quarterly dividend, a 14.9% increase from fiscal 2025 and its 171st consecutive quarterly payment. Capital spending remains substantial, with $3.1 billion invested through the first nine months and approximately $4.2 billion projected for the full year.

Shares of Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO - Get Free Report) have been assigned a consensus rating of "Hold" from the fourteen brokerages that are covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $186.9167.

ATO has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Atmos Energy from $182.00 to $191.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $193.00 to $196.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Mizuho decreased their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $192.00 to $184.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Atmos Energy from $196.00 to $198.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 14th.

Trending Headlines about Atmos Energy

Here are the key news stories impacting Atmos Energy this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Atmos Energy earned $1.43 per diluted share, exceeding the $1.34-$1.35 analyst consensus and rising from $1.16 a year earlier. Fiscal-year-to-date earnings reached $7.33 per share on $1.2 billion of net income. Atmos Energy Q3 earnings article
• Positive Sentiment: Management reaffirmed fiscal 2026 EPS guidance of $8.40 to $8.50, broadly in line with the $8.44 consensus, reducing concerns about a forecast reset. The company also implemented $355 million in annualized regulatory outcomes. Atmos Energy fiscal 2026 earnings release
• Positive Sentiment: The board declared a quarterly dividend of $1.00 per share, or $4.00 annualized—14.9% above fiscal 2025—and the company’s 171st consecutive quarterly dividend. Atmos Energy dividend announcement
• Neutral Sentiment: Atmos Energy spent $3.1 billion on capital projects through the first nine months, with more than 85% directed toward safety and reliability. Full-year capital expenditure guidance is approximately $4.2 billion, while available liquidity was $4.6 billion and the company maintained a 60% equity capitalization target.
• Neutral Sentiment: Institutional trading was mixed in the latest quarter, with 482 investors increasing positions and 439 reducing them. Reported congressional activity consisted of one sale and no purchases, but these signals are unlikely to materially affect the investment case.
• Negative Sentiment: Quarterly revenue of $879.1 million missed analysts’ $909.1 million estimate, creating a counterweight to the EPS beat. The revenue shortfall and ongoing capital-spending requirements may explain why the shares have not responded more strongly to the earnings report. Atmos Energy results summary

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Atmos Energy

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Compound Planning Inc. increased its stake in Atmos Energy by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Compound Planning Inc. now owns 1,654 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $277,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the period. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC grew its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 1,579 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $265,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. MGO One Seven LLC increased its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. MGO One Seven LLC now owns 1,514 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $254,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC raised its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 0.8% during the first quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 8,153 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,506,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Root Financial Partners LLC boosted its position in Atmos Energy by 39.1% during the first quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 235 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. 90.17% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Atmos Energy Trading Down 0.1%

ATO opened at $172.47 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $28.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.60. Atmos Energy has a 52 week low of $155.56 and a 52 week high of $192.51. The business's 50 day moving average is $173.38 and its two-hundred day moving average is $178.16. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results 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 analyst estimates of $909.06 million. Atmos Energy had a net margin of 27.58% and a return on equity of 9.59%. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.16 earnings per share. Atmos Energy has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.400-8.500 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Atmos Energy will post 8.44 EPS for the current year.

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.

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.

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