Atmos Energy Corporation $ATO Shares Bought by Kesler Norman & Wride LLC

Key Points

• Kesler Norman & Wride LLC boosted its Atmos Energy stake by 303.7% in the fourth quarter, ending with 9,329 shares valued at about $1.56 million.
• Atmos Energy reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings of $3.47 per share on revenue of $1.96 billion, and it guided FY 2026 EPS to 8.40-8.50.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $1.00 per share payable June 8, implying a 2.4% yield, while Wall Street currently rates the stock a consensus Hold with a target price of $181.90.

Kesler Norman & Wride LLC raised its stake in Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO - Free Report) by 303.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 9,329 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 7,018 shares during the quarter. Kesler Norman & Wride LLC's holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $1,564,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Atmos Energy by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,032,554 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $3,525,687,000 after buying an additional 276,485 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors lifted its position in Atmos Energy by 3.4% in the third quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 10,965,840 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,872,162,000 after buying an additional 359,780 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position in Atmos Energy by 3.5% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,630,522 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,815,162,000 after buying an additional 356,942 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Atmos Energy by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,214,985 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $703,824,000 after purchasing an additional 78,438 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake in Atmos Energy by 2.3% during the third quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 3,737,053 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $638,102,000 after purchasing an additional 84,786 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.17% of the company's stock.

Atmos Energy Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of NYSE:ATO opened at $168.50 on Wednesday. The firm's 50-day moving average is $182.97 and its two-hundred day moving average is $177.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.89. Atmos Energy Corporation has a 1 year low of $149.98 and a 1 year high of $192.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $28.13 billion, a PE ratio of 20.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.60.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $3.47 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $1.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.94 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.03 earnings per share. Atmos Energy has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.400-8.500 EPS. Analysts predict that Atmos Energy Corporation will post 8.44 EPS for the current year.

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 8th. Investors 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 2.4%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 26th. Atmos Energy's dividend payout ratio is presently 49.14%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ATO has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Atmos Energy from $167.00 to $184.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Atmos Energy from $182.00 to $191.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Morgan Stanley set a $183.00 price target on shares of Atmos Energy in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Mizuho cut their price target on shares of Atmos Energy from $192.00 to $184.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of Atmos Energy from $193.00 to $196.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $181.90.

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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