Atmos Energy Corporation $ATO Shares Newly Bought by Rakuten Investment Management Inc.

Key Points

• Rakuten Investment Management opened a new Atmos Energy position, buying 30,197 shares worth approximately $4.76 million in the third quarter. Institutional investors collectively own 90.17% of the company’s stock.
• Analysts have a consensus Hold rating and an average price target of $183.36; three analysts rate the stock Buy and ten rate it Hold.
• Atmos Energy’s latest quarterly EPS of $1.17 topped estimates of $1.14, while revenue of $837 million fell short of expectations. The company also raised its quarterly dividend 9%, from $1.00 to $1.09 per share.

Rakuten Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO - Free Report) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 30,197 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $4,759,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ATO. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of Atmos Energy during the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,624,975,000. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new stake in Atmos Energy in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $720,212,000. Deutsche Bank AG purchased a new stake in Atmos Energy in the second quarter worth approximately $431,677,000. Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new stake in Atmos Energy in the second quarter worth approximately $276,558,000. Finally, GQG Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Atmos Energy in the second quarter worth approximately $202,443,000. Institutional investors own 90.17% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ATO has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Atmos Energy from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of Atmos Energy from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $198.00 to $180.00 in a report on Friday, September 11th. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $201.00 price objective on shares of Atmos Energy in a research note on Friday. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $179.00 to $182.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 21st. Finally, Argus reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $185.00 target price on shares of Atmos Energy in a research report on Tuesday, October 6th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $183.36.

Key Headlines Impacting Atmos Energy

Here are the key news stories impacting Atmos Energy this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Wells Fargo reiterated its Overweight rating and set a $201 price target, about 16% above the cited share price—an endorsement that may support investor sentiment. Wells Fargo rating
• Positive Sentiment: Atmos reported fiscal Q4 EPS of $1.17, beating the $1.14 consensus and rising from $1.07 a year earlier. Coverage attributed the beat to higher rates and operating strength. Q4 earnings report
• Positive Sentiment: The company plans $29 billion in capital spending over five years and is targeting 6%–8% EPS growth from the fiscal 2027 midpoint, signaling continued infrastructure investment and earnings growth ambitions. Five-year investment plan
• Positive Sentiment: Atmos raised its quarterly dividend 9%, from $1.00 to $1.09 per share, indicating a higher shareholder payout. Dividend increase
• Neutral Sentiment: Fiscal Q4 revenue was $837 million, below analyst expectations of roughly $874 million. The earnings beat was therefore not matched by revenue. Quarterly results

Atmos Energy Trading Down 1.0%

Atmos Energy stock traded down $1.73 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $173.28. The company had a trading volume of 1,012,650 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,063,740. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.73. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $164.84 and a 200 day moving average price of $174.24. The firm has a market cap of $29.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.36, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.56. Atmos Energy Corporation has a 12-month low of $154.72 and a 12-month high of $192.51.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 4th. The utilities provider reported $1.17 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.14 by $0.03. Atmos Energy had a return on equity of 9.67% and a net margin of 28.50%. The firm had revenue of $837.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $873.77 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.07 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Atmos Energy Corporation will post 9.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Atmos Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 7th. Investors of record on Monday, November 23rd will be issued a dividend of $1.09 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 23rd. This represents a $4.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. This is an increase from Atmos Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. Atmos Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 47.00%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director William Ware purchased 300 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $167.59 per share, with a total value of $50,277.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 488 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $81,783.92. This represents a 159.57% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.43% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Atmos Energy Company Profile

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