Atmos Energy Corporation $ATO Shares Sold by Kepler Cheuvreux Suisse SA

Key Points

• Kepler Cheuvreux Suisse SA cut its Atmos Energy stake by 32.6% in the first quarter, selling 20,427 shares and leaving it with 42,250 shares valued at about $7.8 million.
• Atmos Energy beat quarterly expectations, reporting EPS of $3.47 versus the $3.37 consensus and revenue of $1.96 billion versus the $1.94 billion estimate.
• The company maintained a steady dividend and outlook, paying a quarterly dividend of $1.00 per share for a 2.3% annualized yield and guiding FY2026 EPS to $8.40-$8.50.

Kepler Cheuvreux Suisse SA lessened its position in shares of Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO - Free Report) by 32.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 42,250 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 20,427 shares during the quarter. Kepler Cheuvreux Suisse SA's holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $7,803,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,032,554 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $3,525,687,000 after acquiring an additional 276,485 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors raised its position in Atmos Energy by 8.5% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 11,893,826 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,993,968,000 after purchasing an additional 927,986 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in Atmos Energy by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,786,358 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,808,117,000 after purchasing an additional 155,836 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Atmos Energy by 1.9% during the 4th 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 grew its position in Atmos Energy by 2.3% during the 3rd 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 last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.17% of the company's stock.

Atmos Energy Stock Performance

NYSE ATO opened at $176.66 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The business's 50 day moving average is $175.80 and its two-hundred day moving average is $176.76. Atmos Energy Corporation has a 12-month low of $150.51 and a 12-month high of $192.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $29.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.70, a PEG ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.60.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $3.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.37 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $1.96 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.94 billion. Atmos Energy had a return on equity of 9.59% and a net margin of 27.58%.During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.03 EPS. Atmos Energy has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.400-8.500 EPS. Research analysts expect that Atmos Energy Corporation will post 8.46 EPS for the current year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 8th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 26th were issued a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 26th. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. Atmos Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 49.14%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on ATO shares. Barclays increased their target price 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. Argus decreased their price objective on Atmos Energy from $190.00 to $185.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Citigroup boosted their target price on Atmos Energy from $182.00 to $191.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. TD Cowen increased their price target on Atmos Energy from $193.00 to $196.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $190.00 price objective on shares of Atmos Energy in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $183.90.

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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