KBC Group NV Sells 8,046 Shares of Atmos Energy Corporation $ATO

Key Points

• KBC Group NV trimmed its Atmos Energy stake by 2.5% in the first quarter, selling 8,046 shares and leaving it with 316,327 shares valued at about $58.4 million.
• Atmos Energy reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $3.47 versus the $3.37 consensus and revenue of $1.96 billion, and it reaffirmed FY 2026 guidance of $8.40-$8.50 EPS.
• The company also paid a quarterly dividend of $1.00 per share and currently yields about 2.3%; analysts remain cautious overall with a Hold consensus and an average price target of $186.42.

KBC Group NV lowered its position in shares of Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO - Free Report) by 2.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 316,327 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 8,046 shares during the quarter. KBC Group NV owned about 0.19% of Atmos Energy worth $58,432,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ATO. Brighton Jones LLC acquired a new position in shares of Atmos Energy in the 4th quarter valued at about $233,000. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC boosted its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 10.8% during the 1st quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 3,168 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $490,000 after purchasing an additional 308 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its stake in Atmos Energy by 8.3% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 17,312 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,676,000 after purchasing an additional 1,331 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in Atmos Energy by 8.5% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 3,117 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $482,000 after purchasing an additional 245 shares during the period. Finally, Woodline Partners LP grew its stake in Atmos Energy by 43.9% during the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 13,410 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,073,000 after purchasing an additional 4,088 shares during the period. 90.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Atmos Energy Stock Performance

Shares of Atmos Energy stock opened at $177.38 on Tuesday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $173.93 and a 200 day simple moving average of $177.47. Atmos Energy Corporation has a one year low of $154.23 and a one year high of $192.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $29.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.79, a PEG ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.60.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $3.47 earnings per share (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 company earned $3.03 earnings per share. Atmos Energy has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.400-8.500 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Atmos Energy Corporation will post 8.45 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, June 8th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 26th were given a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 26th. Atmos Energy's dividend payout ratio is presently 49.14%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on ATO. Morgan Stanley set a $190.00 price target on Atmos Energy in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Atmos Energy from a "buy (b+)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Argus lowered their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $190.00 to $185.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $193.00 to $196.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $182.00 to $191.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $186.42.

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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