5,672 Shares in Atmos Energy Corporation $ATO Purchased by Plato Investment Management Ltd

Key Points

• Plato Investment Management bought a new stake in Atmos Energy during the fourth quarter, acquiring 5,672 shares valued at about $955,000.
• Institutional ownership remains very high, with hedge funds and other institutional investors holding 90.17% of Atmos Energy’s stock. Several firms, including Bank of America and Capital International Investors, also recently increased their positions.
• Atmos Energy recently reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings of $3.47 per share on revenue of $1.96 billion and reiterated FY2026 guidance of 8.40 to 8.50 EPS. The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $1.00 per share, equal to a 2.2% annual yield.

Plato Investment Management Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 5,672 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $955,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ATO. Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 94.9% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 3,652,267 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $562,851,000 after acquiring an additional 1,778,653 shares in the last quarter. PFA Pension Forsikringsaktieselskab purchased a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy in the 4th quarter valued at about $107,729,000. Capital International Investors raised its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 10,965,840 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,872,162,000 after acquiring an additional 359,780 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,630,522 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,815,162,000 after acquiring an additional 356,942 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Danske Bank A S purchased a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at about $57,763,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.17% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on ATO. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Atmos Energy from $197.00 to $195.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Citigroup raised their price target on Atmos Energy from $182.00 to $191.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday. Weiss Ratings cut Atmos Energy from a "buy (a-)" rating to a "buy (b+)" rating in a report on Thursday. Wall Street Zen raised Atmos Energy from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday. Finally, Truist Financial began coverage on Atmos Energy in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. They issued a "hold" rating and a $195.00 price target on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $182.11.

Atmos Energy Trading Up 0.0%

ATO stock opened at $180.96 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $30.21 billion, a PE ratio of 22.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 1.00. Atmos Energy Corporation has a one year low of $149.98 and a one year high of $192.51. The company's 50 day moving average price is $185.86 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $176.87.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $3.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.37 by $0.10. Atmos Energy had a net margin of 27.58% and a return on equity of 9.59%. The company had revenue of $1.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.94 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.03 EPS. Atmos Energy has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.400-8.500 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Atmos Energy Corporation will post 8.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 8th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 26th will be 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 of this dividend is Tuesday, May 26th. Atmos Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 49.14%.

Atmos Energy 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.

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