Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. Reduces Stock Holdings in Atmos Energy Corporation $ATO

Key Points

• Duff & Phelps reduced its position in Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) by 6.4% in Q3, selling 47,674 shares to finish with 697,504 shares worth about $119.1 million and making ATO its 22nd-largest holding (≈1.4% of its portfolio).
• Atmos Energy reported Q results beating estimates with $2.44 EPS (vs. $2.41 expected) and $1.34B revenue, set FY2026 guidance of $8.150–$8.350 EPS, and pays a $1.00 quarterly dividend ($4.00 annualized, 2.2% yield).
• Institutional investors own roughly 90.17% of ATO; the stock has a $30.5B market cap and a consensus analyst rating of "Hold" with a $175.67 average target price.

Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. reduced its position in shares of Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO - Free Report) by 6.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 697,504 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 47,674 shares during the quarter. Atmos Energy accounts for approximately 1.4% of Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co.'s holdings, making the stock its 22nd biggest position. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. owned about 0.43% of Atmos Energy worth $119,099,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 30.4% in the third quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 279 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $48,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Little House Capital LLC raised its position in Atmos Energy by 0.6% in the third quarter. Little House Capital LLC now owns 10,733 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,833,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the period. PAX Financial Group LLC raised its position in Atmos Energy by 2.3% in the third quarter. PAX Financial Group LLC now owns 3,178 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $543,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the period. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 8.9% during the 3rd quarter. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 868 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $148,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Westside Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 19.4% during the 3rd quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 444 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $76,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 90.17% of the company's stock.

Atmos Energy Stock Up 0.5%

ATO opened at $184.41 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $30.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.13. The firm's fifty day moving average is $174.33 and its 200 day moving average is $172.02. Atmos Energy Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $141.59 and a fifty-two week high of $187.98.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The utilities provider reported $2.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.41 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $1.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.21 billion. Atmos Energy had a return on equity of 9.20% and a net margin of 25.67%.During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.23 EPS. Atmos Energy has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.150-8.350 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Atmos Energy Corporation will post 7.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 9th. Investors of record on Monday, February 23rd were given a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 23rd. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. Atmos Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 51.95%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ATO has been the subject of several analyst reports. Zacks Research upgraded Atmos Energy to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 18th. Barclays lifted their target price on Atmos Energy from $165.00 to $167.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Morgan Stanley set a $192.00 price target on Atmos Energy in a research report on Friday, February 20th. UBS Group raised their price objective on Atmos Energy from $159.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Atmos Energy from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, March 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $175.67.

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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