California State Teachers Retirement System Has $5.73 Billion Stake in Atmos Energy Corporation $ATO

Key Points

• California State Teachers Retirement System increased its Atmos Energy stake by 6,920.2% to 33.26 million shares, representing approximately 19.68% of the company and valued at $5.73 billion. Institutional investors collectively own 90.17% of Atmos Energy.
• Analysts maintain a consensus “Hold” rating, with four Buys and nine Holds and an average price target of $187.73; several firms recently lowered their targets.
• Atmos Energy exceeded quarterly earnings expectations with EPS of $1.43 versus the $1.35 consensus, while revenue came in below estimates. The company also pays a quarterly dividend of $1.00 per share, implying a 2.4% yield.

California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its stake in shares of Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO - Free Report) by 6,920.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 33,258,618 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 32,784,865 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System owned approximately 19.68% of Atmos Energy worth $5,729,462,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Atmos Energy during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Continuum Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in Atmos Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Atmos Energy during the second quarter worth about $28,000. Kingdom Financial Group LLC. bought a new position in Atmos Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Finally, Elevation Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in Atmos Energy by 627.3% during the second quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 160 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 138 shares during the last quarter. 90.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Atmos Energy

In related news, Director William Ware acquired 300 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 purchase, the director directly owned 488 shares in the company, valued at approximately $81,783.92. This trade represents a 159.57% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.43% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ATO has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on Atmos Energy in a research report on Monday, July 13th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $200.00 price objective for the company. Argus dropped their price target on Atmos Energy from $190.00 to $185.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. Truist Financial cut their price target on Atmos Energy from $188.00 to $179.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 13th. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $184.00 to $183.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $196.00 to $190.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 21st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $187.73.

Atmos Energy Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of NYSE ATO opened at $166.69 on Thursday. The stock's fifty day moving average is $172.53 and its 200 day moving average is $177.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $28.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.82, a PEG ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.60. 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.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.08. Atmos Energy had a net margin of 28.50% and a return on equity of 9.67%. The company had revenue of $879.06 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $900.82 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.16 EPS. 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 Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 8th. Investors of record on Monday, August 24th were issued a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 24th. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. Atmos Energy's payout ratio is 47.56%.

About Atmos Energy

Atmos Energy Corporation NYSE: ATO is a regulated natural gas distribution and pipeline company headquartered in Dallas, Texas. Through its utility operations, the company delivers natural gas to residential, commercial, industrial and agricultural customers, with services focused on safe and reliable energy delivery.

Atmos Energy serves customers across eight states: Colorado, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia. Its operations include local natural gas distribution as well as pipeline transportation and storage activities, primarily through its Atmos Pipeline-Texas business.

The company traces its roots to 1906 and has expanded over time through growth and acquisitions in the natural gas industry.

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