Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Hold" from Brokerages

Key Points

• Atmos Energy has a consensus “Hold” rating from 13 brokerages, with nine holds and four buys. Analysts’ average 12-month price target is $187.73, above the stock’s recent $166.77 price.
• The company reported quarterly EPS of $1.43, beating estimates of $1.35, while revenue of $879.06 million came in below expectations. Management reaffirmed fiscal 2026 EPS guidance of $8.40–$8.50.
• Atmos Energy declared a quarterly dividend of $1.00 per share, equivalent to a $4.00 annualized payout and a 2.4% yield. Institutional investors own 90.17% of the company, while insiders hold 0.43%.

Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO - Get Free Report) has been given an average recommendation of "Hold" by the thirteen brokerages that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $187.7273.

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on ATO. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Atmos Energy from $196.00 to $198.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Wall Street Zen lowered Atmos Energy from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Atmos Energy from $193.00 to $196.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Truist Financial dropped their target price on Atmos Energy from $188.00 to $179.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 13th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on Atmos Energy from $182.00 to $191.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, May 8th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director William James Ware bought 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, for a total transaction of $50,277.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 488 shares of the company's stock, valued at $81,783.92. This trade represents a 159.57% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.43% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Atmos Energy

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ATO. Compound Planning Inc. raised its position in Atmos Energy by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Compound Planning Inc. now owns 1,654 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $277,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. MGO One Seven LLC boosted its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. MGO One Seven LLC now owns 1,514 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $254,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC grew its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 8,153 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,506,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 39.1% in the 1st quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 235 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc raised its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 6.3% in the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,119 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $193,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.17% of the company's stock.

Atmos Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ATO opened at $166.77 on Monday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $173.37 and a 200-day simple moving average of $178.23. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $28.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.60. Atmos Energy has a 52 week low of $160.10 and a 52 week high of $192.51.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $879.06 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $900.82 million. Atmos Energy had a net margin of 28.50% and a return on equity of 9.67%. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.16 earnings per share. Atmos Energy has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.400-8.500 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Atmos Energy will post 8.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 8th. Investors of record on Monday, August 24th will be given a dividend of $1.00 per share. 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 presently 47.56%.

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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