Hsbc Holdings PLC Decreases Stock Position in Atmos Energy Corporation $ATO

Key Points

• Hsbc Holdings PLC reduced its stake in Atmos Energy by 4.5% in the first quarter, selling 36,402 shares and ending with 780,184 shares valued at about $144.1 million.
• Wall Street sentiment is mixed: analysts currently have a consensus “Hold” rating on ATO, with an average price target of $186.42 despite some recent upgrades and target adjustments.
• Atmos Energy reported solid quarterly results, posting EPS of $3.47, ahead of estimates, and recently paid a $1.00 quarterly dividend, implying a 2.3% annualized yield.

Hsbc Holdings PLC lessened its holdings in Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO - Free Report) by 4.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 780,184 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 36,402 shares during the quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC owned 0.47% of Atmos Energy worth $144,091,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Kestra Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in Atmos Energy by 167.0% in the 1st quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 16,725 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $3,089,000 after purchasing an additional 10,461 shares in the last quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Atmos Energy by 3.0% during the 1st quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 68,481 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $12,656,000 after purchasing an additional 2,015 shares in the last quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC increased its stake in Atmos Energy by 26.2% during the 1st quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC now owns 3,568 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $659,000 after purchasing an additional 740 shares in the last quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund raised its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 3.3% in the first quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 18,965 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $3,503,000 after buying an additional 600 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sageworth Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of Atmos Energy in the first quarter worth $550,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.17% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on ATO. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on shares of Atmos Energy in a research note on Monday, July 13th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $200.00 price objective for the company. Barclays cut their target price on Atmos Energy from $184.00 to $183.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. TD Cowen lifted their price target on Atmos Energy from $193.00 to $196.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Morgan Stanley set a $190.00 price target on Atmos Energy in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their price target on Atmos Energy from $187.00 to $188.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $186.42.

Atmos Energy Stock Down 0.3%

Atmos Energy stock opened at $177.57 on Friday. The business's 50-day moving average price is $174.02 and its 200 day moving average price is $177.35. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The firm has a market cap of $29.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.60. Atmos Energy Corporation has a 52 week low of $154.23 and a 52 week high of $192.51.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $3.47 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.37 by $0.10. Atmos Energy had a return on equity of 9.59% and a net margin of 27.58%.The business had revenue of $1.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.94 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.03 EPS. Atmos Energy has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.400-8.500 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Atmos Energy Corporation will post 8.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 8th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 26th were paid a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 26th. Atmos Energy's payout ratio is currently 49.14%.

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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