First Trust Advisors LP Trims Stock Position in Atmos Energy Corporation $ATO

Key Points

• First Trust Advisors LP trimmed its stake in Atmos Energy (ATO) by 1.8% in Q3, selling 10,680 shares and ending the period with 577,816 shares valued at about $98.66 million (≈0.36% ownership).
• Analyst and financial snapshot: Atmos has a consensus "Hold" rating with a $175.67 price target while shares trade around $185.14; the company pays a $1.00 quarterly dividend (annual $4.00, 2.2% yield) and set FY2026 EPS guidance of $8.15–$8.35.
• Other institutions largely added to positions—Dimensional Fund Advisors increased its stake to 732,859 shares (~$125.13M)—and institutional ownership of the company stands at 90.17%.

First Trust Advisors LP lessened its holdings in Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO - Free Report) by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 577,816 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 10,680 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP owned about 0.36% of Atmos Energy worth $98,662,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in ATO. Neo Ivy Capital Management purchased a new stake in Atmos Energy during the third quarter valued at approximately $238,000. One Wealth Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 8.6% during the 3rd quarter. One Wealth Capital Management LLC now owns 1,745 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $298,000 after acquiring an additional 138 shares during the last quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. grew its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 13.3% during the 3rd quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 14,468 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,470,000 after acquiring an additional 1,698 shares during the period. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC increased its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 21.6% in the 3rd quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC now owns 15,275 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,608,000 after purchasing an additional 2,715 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 732,859 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $125,128,000 after purchasing an additional 15,847 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.17% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley set a $192.00 target price on Atmos Energy in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Citigroup upped their price target on Atmos Energy from $163.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Atmos Energy in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Atmos Energy from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $159.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Atmos Energy currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $175.67.

Atmos Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ATO opened at $185.14 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $30.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.04, a P/E/G ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 0.74. Atmos Energy Corporation has a 52-week low of $141.59 and a 52-week high of $187.98. 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 $173.70 and its two-hundred day moving average is $171.82.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 3rd. The utilities provider reported $2.44 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.41 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $1.34 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.21 billion. Atmos Energy had a net margin of 25.67% and a return on equity of 9.20%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.23 EPS. Atmos Energy has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.150-8.350 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Atmos Energy Corporation will post 7.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 9th. Investors of record on Monday, February 23rd were paid a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 23rd. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. Atmos Energy's dividend payout ratio is presently 51.95%.

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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