Jennison Associates LLC Sells 7,517 Shares of Atmos Energy Corporation $ATO

Key Points

• Jennison Associates cut its stake in Atmos Energy by 2.1% in Q4, selling 7,517 shares and leaving it with 353,048 shares (about 0.22% of the company) valued at roughly $59.18 million.
• Analysts maintain a consensus "Hold" rating on ATO with an average price target of $181.11, while recent activity shows mixed moves — Barclays and Citigroup raised targets, Morgan Stanley trimmed its target to $195, and Truist initiated coverage at $195 (hold).
• Atmos is trading near $190 with a $31.4B market cap; it slightly beat Q results ($2.44 EPS vs $2.41 est.), set FY2026 guidance of $8.15–$8.35 EPS, and pays a $1.00 quarterly dividend (annual $4.00, ~2.1% yield).

Jennison Associates LLC cut its holdings in Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO - Free Report) by 2.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 353,048 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 7,517 shares during the quarter. Jennison Associates LLC owned approximately 0.22% of Atmos Energy worth $59,181,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC boosted its position in Atmos Energy by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 1,579 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $265,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its position in Atmos Energy by 30.4% during the 3rd quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 279 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $48,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Little House Capital LLC boosted its position in Atmos Energy by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Little House Capital LLC now owns 10,733 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,833,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. PAX Financial Group LLC boosted its position in Atmos Energy by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. PAX Financial Group LLC now owns 3,178 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $543,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Atmos Energy by 8.9% during the 3rd quarter. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 868 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $148,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. 90.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports on ATO. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $167.00 to $184.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Atmos Energy from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, March 7th. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $163.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Truist Financial began coverage on shares of Atmos Energy in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. They set a "hold" rating and a $195.00 target price for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $197.00 to $195.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $181.11.

Atmos Energy Trading Up 2.3%

Shares of Atmos Energy stock opened at $189.94 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $31.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.67, a P/E/G ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 0.69. 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 company has a fifty day moving average of $185.68 and a 200 day moving average of $176.72. Atmos Energy Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $149.98 and a fifty-two week high of $192.51.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The utilities provider reported $2.44 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.41 by $0.03. The company 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 posted $2.23 EPS. Atmos Energy has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.150-8.350 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Atmos Energy Corporation will post 8.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 9th. Investors of record on Monday, February 23rd were issued a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 23rd. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. Atmos Energy's dividend payout ratio is currently 51.95%.

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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