Kestra Advisory Services LLC Has $3.09 Million Position in Atmos Energy Corporation $ATO

Key Points

• Kestra Advisory Services LLC increased its Atmos Energy stake by 167% in the first quarter, buying 10,461 additional shares and bringing its total holding to 16,725 shares worth about $3.09 million.
• Institutional ownership remains heavy, with hedge funds and other investors holding about 90.17% of Atmos Energy’s stock. Large firms like Vanguard, Capital International Investors, and State Street also reported sizable positions.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed but leans cautious: the stock has a consensus rating of Hold with an average price target of $186.42. Atmos Energy recently beat quarterly earnings estimates and pays a quarterly dividend of $1.00 per share, equal to a 2.3% yield.

Kestra Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO - Free Report) by 167.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 16,725 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 10,461 shares during the quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC's holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $3,089,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,032,554 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $3,525,687,000 after acquiring an additional 276,485 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors grew its stake in Atmos Energy by 8.5% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 11,893,826 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,993,968,000 after purchasing an additional 927,986 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in Atmos Energy by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,786,358 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,808,117,000 after purchasing an additional 155,836 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Atmos Energy by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,214,985 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $703,824,000 after purchasing an additional 78,438 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE increased its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 3,737,053 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $638,102,000 after purchasing an additional 84,786 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.17% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on ATO shares. Argus lowered their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $190.00 to $185.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Atmos Energy from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday. Citigroup lifted their price target on Atmos Energy from $182.00 to $191.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on Atmos Energy in a research report on Monday. They set an "overweight" rating and a $200.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Mizuho cut their price objective on Atmos Energy from $192.00 to $184.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $186.42.

Atmos Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ATO opened at $177.57 on Friday. Atmos Energy Corporation has a 12-month low of $154.23 and a 12-month high of $192.51. The company's 50 day moving average price is $174.02 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $177.35. The firm has a market cap of $29.64 billion, a PE ratio of 21.81, a PEG ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $3.47 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.94 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.03 earnings per share. Atmos Energy has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.400-8.500 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Atmos Energy Corporation will post 8.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

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

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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