Ieq Capital LLC Takes Position in Atmos Energy Corporation $ATO

Key Points

• Ieq Capital purchased 54,105 Atmos Energy shares worth approximately $9.3 million in the second quarter, while institutional investors collectively own 90.17% of the stock.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautious: Atmos Energy has a consensus “Hold” rating from 13 analysts, with an average price target of $187.73.
• Atmos Energy exceeded quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $1.43 EPS versus the $1.35 estimate, and declared a $1.00 quarterly dividend, equivalent to a 2.4% yield.

Ieq Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 54,105 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $9,321,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Atmos Energy in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,624,975,000. Deutsche Bank AG acquired a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $431,677,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $331,426,000. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in 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 worth $562,851,000 after purchasing an additional 1,778,653 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its holdings in 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 period. 90.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ATO has been the topic of a number of research reports. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Atmos Energy from a "buy (b+)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Atmos Energy from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $182.00 to $191.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Truist Financial lowered their target price on Atmos Energy from $188.00 to $179.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 13th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on Atmos Energy from $184.00 to $183.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $187.73.

Atmos Energy Price Performance

NYSE ATO opened at $167.16 on Friday. Atmos Energy Corporation has a 12 month low of $160.10 and a 12 month high of $192.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $28.25 billion, a PE ratio of 19.88, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.60. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $173.57 and its 200 day simple moving average is $178.26.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $879.06 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $900.82 million. Atmos Energy had a return on equity of 9.67% and a net margin of 28.50%.During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.16 earnings per share. Atmos Energy has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.400-8.500 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Atmos Energy Corporation will post 8.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 8th. Investors of record on Monday, August 24th will be paid a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 24th. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. Atmos Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 47.56%.

Insider Transactions at Atmos Energy

In other Atmos Energy news, Director William James Ware purchased 300 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $167.59 per share, for a total transaction of $50,277.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 488 shares in the company, valued at $81,783.92. The trade was a 159.57% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.43% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Atmos Energy

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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