Aristotle Capital Management LLC Sells 1,503,648 Shares of Atmos Energy Corporation $ATO

Key Points

• Aristotle Capital Management cut its Atmos Energy stake by 23.6% in Q1, selling 1,503,648 shares and leaving it with 4,866,481 shares worth about $899 million.
• Atmos Energy reported solid quarterly results, posting $3.47 EPS versus the $3.37 estimate and revenue of $1.96 billion, while also guiding FY2026 EPS to $8.40-$8.50.
• The company continues to offer income to shareholders, paying a quarterly dividend of $1.00 per share for a 2.2% annualized yield, while analysts currently rate the stock a consensus Hold with an average target of $186.92.

Aristotle Capital Management LLC lowered its position in shares of Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO - Free Report) by 23.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,866,481 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 1,503,648 shares during the quarter. Atmos Energy makes up about 1.9% of Aristotle Capital Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest position. Aristotle Capital Management LLC owned approximately 2.92% of Atmos Energy worth $898,951,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Garner Asset Management Corp bought a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 85.9% during the 4th quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 158 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Kingdom Financial Group LLC. acquired a new position in shares of Atmos Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 270.2% in the 4th quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC now owns 174 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares during the period. Finally, Elevated Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Atmos Energy in the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.17% of the company's stock.

Atmos Energy Stock Up 0.7%

ATO opened at $179.24 on Friday. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $173.76 and its 200 day simple moving average is $177.67. Atmos Energy Corporation has a 1-year low of $154.23 and a 1-year high of $192.51. The stock has a market cap of $29.92 billion, a PE ratio of 22.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $3.47 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.37 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $1.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.94 billion. Atmos Energy had a net margin of 27.58% and a return on equity of 9.59%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.03 EPS. Atmos Energy has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.400-8.500 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Atmos Energy Corporation will post 8.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 8th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 26th were paid a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 26th. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. Atmos Energy's payout ratio is 49.14%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Atmos Energy from a "buy (b+)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Argus decreased their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $190.00 to $185.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. Morgan Stanley set a $196.00 price target on shares of Atmos Energy in a report on Wednesday. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $187.00 to $188.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Atmos Energy from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 18th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $186.92.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding ATO? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO - Free Report).

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.