BlackRock Inc. Makes New $2.62 Billion Investment in Atmos Energy Corporation $ATO

Key Points

• BlackRock acquired 15.24 million Atmos Energy shares worth approximately $2.62 billion in the second quarter, giving it a 9.13% stake. Institutional investors collectively own 90.17% of the company.
• Analysts maintain a generally cautious outlook, with four Buy ratings and nine Holds and a consensus price target of $188.27. Atmos Energy recently exceeded quarterly EPS estimates, reporting $1.43 versus expectations of $1.35.
• Atmos Energy declared a quarterly dividend of $1.00 per share, equivalent to $4.00 annually and a 2.3% yield; the company’s FY 2026 EPS guidance is $8.40–$8.50.

BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 15,237,564 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,624,975,000. BlackRock Inc. owned 9.13% of Atmos Energy as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in ATO. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Atmos Energy by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,032,554 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $3,525,687,000 after purchasing an additional 276,485 shares during the period. Capital International Investors increased its position in Atmos Energy by 8.5% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 11,893,826 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,993,968,000 after buying an additional 927,986 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,786,358 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,808,117,000 after buying an additional 155,836 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 78,438 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE boosted its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 11.0% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 4,199,433 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $775,719,000 after acquiring an additional 416,933 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.17% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on ATO shares. Truist Financial decreased their price target on shares of Atmos Energy from $188.00 to $179.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 13th. Argus dropped their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $190.00 to $185.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. Morgan Stanley set a $196.00 price objective on shares of Atmos Energy in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $184.00 to $183.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Atmos Energy from $193.00 to $196.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $188.27.

Insider Buying and Selling at Atmos Energy

In other news, Director William James Ware purchased 300 shares of Atmos Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $167.59 per share, for a total transaction of $50,277.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 488 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $81,783.92. The trade was a 159.57% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.43% of the company's stock.

Atmos Energy Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of NYSE ATO opened at $171.16 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 0.81. Atmos Energy Corporation has a 52 week low of $160.10 and a 52 week high of $192.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $28.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.35, a PEG ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.60. The stock's fifty day moving average is $173.57 and its 200 day moving average is $178.31.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $879.06 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $900.82 million. Atmos Energy had a return on equity of 9.67% and a net margin of 28.50%.During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.16 earnings per share. Atmos Energy has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.400-8.500 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Atmos Energy Corporation will post 8.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 24th will be issued a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 24th. Atmos Energy's dividend payout ratio is 47.56%.

Atmos Energy Company Profile

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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