Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) Director Acquires $50,277.00 in Stock

Key Points

• Atmos Energy Director William James Ware bought 300 shares at an average price of $167.59, investing $50,277 and increasing his ownership by 159.57% to 488 shares.
• Atmos Energy’s stock traded at $169.31, near the lower end of its 52-week range. The company exceeded quarterly EPS expectations ($1.43 versus $1.35), while revenue fell short of estimates.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $1.00 per share, equivalent to a $4.00 annualized payout and a 2.4% yield. Analysts maintain a consensus “Hold” rating with an average price target of $189.09.

Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO - Get Free Report) Director William James 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 purchase, the director owned 488 shares in the company, valued at $81,783.92. This trade represents a 159.57% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.

Atmos Energy Stock Performance

NYSE ATO traded up $0.10 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $169.31. The company's stock had a trading volume of 408,601 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,277,094. Atmos Energy Corporation has a 52 week low of $160.10 and a 52 week high of $192.51. The firm has a market cap of $28.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.60. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $173.39 and a 200 day moving average price of $178.16. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.43 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.08. Atmos Energy had a return on equity of 9.67% and a net margin of 28.50%.The company had revenue of $879.06 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $900.82 million. 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. Equities research analysts forecast that Atmos Energy Corporation will post 8.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 24th will be given a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 24th. Atmos Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 47.56%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Atmos Energy

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Brighton Jones LLC bought a new position in shares of Atmos Energy during the fourth quarter valued at $233,000. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC grew its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 10.8% in the 1st quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 3,168 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $490,000 after purchasing an additional 308 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 8.3% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 17,312 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,676,000 after purchasing an additional 1,331 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 8.5% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 3,117 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $482,000 after purchasing an additional 245 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Woodline Partners LP lifted its holdings in Atmos Energy by 43.9% during the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 13,410 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,073,000 after purchasing an additional 4,088 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.17% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ATO has been the subject of several research reports. Morgan Stanley set a $196.00 target price on shares of Atmos Energy in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on Atmos Energy in a report on Monday, July 13th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $200.00 price target for the company. Argus reduced their price objective on Atmos Energy from $190.00 to $185.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. Weiss Ratings lowered Atmos Energy from a "buy (b+)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Atmos Energy from $196.00 to $198.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $189.09.

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.

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