Corient Private Wealth LP Sells 14,271 Shares of Atmos Energy Corporation $ATO

Key Points

• Corient Private Wealth reduced its Atmos Energy stake by 15.1% in the second quarter, selling 14,271 shares and retaining 80,046 shares valued at approximately $13.8 million. Institutional investors collectively own 90.17% of ATO.
• Analysts maintain a generally cautious outlook, with three Buy ratings and ten Holds, producing a consensus “Hold” rating and a $186.09 target price. Recent target reductions came from several major firms.
• Atmos Energy’s latest quarterly results exceeded expectations, with EPS of $1.43 versus the $1.35 consensus, while the company declared a $1.00 quarterly dividend, equivalent to a 2.5% annual yield.

Corient Private Wealth LP decreased its position in shares of Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO - Free Report) by 15.1% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 80,046 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 14,271 shares during the quarter. Corient Private Wealth LP's holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $13,789,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of ATO. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Atmos Energy in the second quarter valued at about $2,624,975,000. Capital International Investors lifted its holdings 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 worth $1,993,968,000 after purchasing an additional 927,986 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Atmos Energy by 1.9% in 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. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its stake in Atmos Energy by 11.0% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 4,199,433 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $775,719,000 after purchasing an additional 416,933 shares during the period. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG grew its holdings in Atmos Energy by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 2,887,367 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $484,009,000 after buying an additional 47,860 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.17% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ATO has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $188.00 to $179.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. Argus cut their target price 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. Mizuho reduced their price target on shares of Atmos Energy from $192.00 to $184.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $180.00 price target (down from $198.00) on shares of Atmos Energy in a research note on Friday, September 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $196.00 to $190.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 21st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $186.09.

Atmos Energy Trading Down 1.0%

ATO stock opened at $162.17 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $171.52 and a 200 day moving average price of $177.13. Atmos Energy Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $160.10 and a fifty-two week high of $192.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 0.81. The firm has a market cap of $27.41 billion, a PE ratio of 19.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.60.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $900.82 million. During the same quarter in the prior 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 anticipate that Atmos Energy Corporation will post 8.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 8th. Investors of record on Monday, August 24th were issued a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 24th. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. Atmos Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 47.56%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director William Ware acquired 300 shares of Atmos Energy stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $167.59 per share, with a total value of $50,277.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 488 shares of the company's stock, valued at $81,783.92. The trade was a 159.57% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.43% of the company's stock.

Atmos Energy Profile

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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