Atmos Energy Corporation $ATO Shares Bought by Dimensional Fund Advisors LP

Key Points

• Dimensional Fund Advisors increased its Atmos Energy stake by 2.7% in the first quarter, purchasing 19,588 additional shares and bringing its holdings to 752,986 shares valued at approximately $139.1 million.
• Atmos Energy reported quarterly EPS of $3.47, topping estimates of $3.37, while revenue reached $1.96 billion. The company reaffirmed fiscal 2026 EPS guidance of $8.40–$8.50 and pays a $1.00 quarterly dividend, yielding about 2.2%.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed, with four Buy ratings and ten Holds; the stock has an average price target of $186.92 versus its recent price of $179.24.

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO - Free Report) by 2.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 752,986 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 19,588 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned approximately 0.46% of Atmos Energy worth $139,094,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of ATO. SEB Asset Management AB acquired a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy in the 1st quarter worth approximately $14,398,000. Swiss National Bank boosted its position in Atmos Energy by 7.9% during the first quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 474,700 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $87,687,000 after purchasing an additional 34,800 shares in the last quarter. FSA Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Atmos Energy in the first quarter valued at $202,000. Kera Capital Partners Inc. grew its holdings in Atmos Energy by 18.3% in the first quarter. Kera Capital Partners Inc. now owns 1,890 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $349,000 after purchasing an additional 292 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assetmark Inc. increased its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 2.6% in the first quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 89,289 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $16,493,000 after buying an additional 2,278 shares in the last quarter. 90.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Atmos Energy Stock Performance

NYSE ATO opened at $179.24 on Monday. Atmos Energy Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $154.23 and a fifty-two week high of $192.51. The stock has a market cap of $29.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.60. The business has a fifty day moving average of $173.76 and a 200-day moving average of $177.75. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 9.59% and a net margin of 27.58%.During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.03 earnings per share. 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 8.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on ATO. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on Atmos Energy in a research note on Monday, July 13th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $200.00 price target for the company. Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $187.00 to $188.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Argus dropped their target price 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. Mizuho cut 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 report on Friday, May 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Atmos Energy from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Atmos Energy has an average 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.

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