Delta Global Management LP Takes $2.50 Million Position in Atmos Energy Corporation $ATO

Key Points

• Delta Global Management LP initiated a new position in Atmos Energy, buying 13,561 shares worth about $2.5 million in the first quarter.
• Atmos Energy continues to attract heavy institutional interest, with 90.17% of the stock owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
• The company recently beat earnings and revenue expectations, reported a quarterly dividend of $1.00 per share, and analysts currently rate the stock a Hold on average with a $186.92 price target.

Delta Global Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 13,561 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,505,000.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Atmos Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $331,426,000. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 94.9% during the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 3,652,267 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $562,851,000 after purchasing an additional 1,778,653 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 26,269.9% in the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,033,701 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $173,279,000 after purchasing an additional 1,029,781 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors grew its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 8.5% in the fourth 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 during the last quarter. Finally, PFA Pension Forsikringsaktieselskab bought a new position in shares of Atmos Energy in the fourth quarter worth approximately $107,729,000. 90.17% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on ATO. Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on shares of Atmos Energy in a report on Monday, July 13th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $200.00 price target for the company. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Atmos Energy from $184.00 to $183.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Morgan Stanley set a $196.00 price objective on shares of Atmos Energy in a research note on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $196.00 to $198.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $193.00 to $196.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Atmos Energy presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $186.92.

Atmos Energy Stock Performance

Shares of ATO stock opened at $179.24 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $173.76 and a 200 day moving average of $177.67. Atmos Energy Corporation has a 52 week low of $154.23 and a 52 week high of $192.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $29.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.02, a PEG ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $3.47 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.37 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $1.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.94 billion. Atmos Energy had a net margin of 27.58% and a return on equity of 9.59%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.03 earnings per share. Atmos Energy has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.400-8.500 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Atmos Energy Corporation will post 8.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 8th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 26th were paid a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 26th. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. Atmos Energy's payout ratio is presently 49.14%.

Atmos Energy 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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