Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH Buys New Holdings in Atmos Energy Corporation $ATO

Key Points

• Fort Washington Investment Advisors purchased 167,212 shares of Atmos Energy worth approximately $26.2 million, giving it a 0.10% stake. Institutional investors collectively own 90.17% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment is largely neutral: three analysts rate Atmos Energy a Buy and ten rate it a Hold, producing a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $183.
• Atmos Energy exceeded quarterly earnings expectations with EPS of $1.43 versus $1.35 forecast, while maintaining an annualized dividend of $4.00 per share, yielding about 2.4%.

Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH bought a new position in Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO - Free Report) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 167,212 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $26,159,000. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH owned 0.10% of Atmos Energy as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Atmos Energy during the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. Continuum Advisory LLC bought a new stake in Atmos Energy in the 2nd quarter worth $25,000. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in Atmos Energy by 627.3% in the 2nd quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 160 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 138 shares during the last quarter. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Atmos Energy in the second quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Downshift Financial LLC increased its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 2,514.3% in the third quarter. Downshift Financial LLC now owns 183 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 176 shares during the period. 90.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $190.00 to $179.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, September 18th. Barclays cut their price objective on Atmos Energy from $184.00 to $183.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Atmos Energy from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Atmos Energy in a research report on Friday, August 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on Atmos Energy in a report on Monday, July 13th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $200.00 target price on the stock. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $183.00.

Insider Activity at Atmos Energy

In other news, Director William Ware purchased 300 shares of Atmos Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was bought at an average price of $167.59 per share, with a total value of $50,277.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 488 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $81,783.92. The trade was a 159.57% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.43% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Atmos Energy Stock Performance

Shares of ATO stock opened at $163.72 on Friday. Atmos Energy Corporation has a one year low of $154.72 and a one year high of $192.51. The company's 50-day moving average is $164.11 and its 200 day moving average is $173.20. The company has a market capitalization of $27.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.57. 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 (NYSE:ATO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.43 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $879.06 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $900.82 million. Atmos Energy had a net margin of 28.50% and a return on equity of 9.67%. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.16 EPS. Atmos Energy has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.400-8.500 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Atmos Energy Corporation will post 8.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 24th were issued a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 24th. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. Atmos Energy's dividend payout ratio is presently 47.62%.

Atmos Energy Profile

Atmos Energy Corporation is a regulated natural gas distribution and pipeline company headquartered in Dallas, Texas. The company delivers natural gas to residential, commercial, industrial and institutional customers and is one of the largest natural gas distributors in the United States.

Atmos Energy operates through two primary businesses: natural gas distribution and pipeline and storage operations. Its distribution activities include acquiring, transporting, storing and delivering natural gas, while its pipeline operations provide transportation and storage services and support the company's distribution network.

The company serves customers across eight states, including Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Colorado, Kansas, Kentucky, Tennessee and Virginia.

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