Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC Boosts Stock Position in Atmos Energy Corporation $ATO

Key Points

• Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC increased its stake in Atmos Energy by 35.7% in Q4 to 24,689 shares (worth $4.14M), and institutional investors now own 90.17% of the company.
• Several brokerages have raised price targets (e.g., Barclays to $184, Citi to $182), but the consensus rating remains a "Hold" with an average target of $181.11 and mixed analyst opinions (2 Strong Buy, 10 Hold).
• Atmos trades near $187 with a market cap of about $31B and a PE of 24.3, pays a $4.00 annual dividend (~2.1% yield), and has FY2026 EPS guidance of 8.15–8.35.

Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO - Free Report) by 35.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 24,689 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 6,491 shares during the period. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC's holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $4,139,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ATO. Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in Atmos Energy by 94.9% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 3,652,267 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $562,851,000 after purchasing an additional 1,778,653 shares during the period. Capital International Investors increased its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 10,965,840 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,872,162,000 after purchasing an additional 359,780 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,630,522 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,815,162,000 after purchasing an additional 356,942 shares during the last quarter. Danske Bank A S purchased a new position in Atmos Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at $57,763,000. Finally, California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its holdings in Atmos Energy by 151.1% during the 3rd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 476,592 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $81,378,000 after acquiring an additional 286,754 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 90.17% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have weighed in on ATO. Barclays upped their target price on Atmos Energy from $167.00 to $184.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Citigroup boosted their price target on Atmos Energy from $163.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Truist Financial began coverage on Atmos Energy in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. They set a "hold" rating and a $195.00 target price on the stock. Weiss Ratings raised Atmos Energy from a "buy (b+)" rating to a "buy (a-)" rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Atmos Energy from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, March 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $181.11.

Atmos Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ATO opened at $187.13 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The business's 50 day moving average price is $185.31 and its 200-day moving average price is $176.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.96 billion, a PE ratio of 24.30, a P/E/G ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 0.69. Atmos Energy Corporation has a 1 year low of $149.98 and a 1 year high of $192.51.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The utilities provider reported $2.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.41 by $0.03. Atmos Energy had a return on equity of 9.20% and a net margin of 25.67%.The firm had revenue of $1.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.21 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.23 earnings per share. Atmos Energy has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.150-8.350 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Atmos Energy Corporation will post 8.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 9th. Investors of record on Monday, February 23rd were given a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 23rd. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. Atmos Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.95%.

Atmos Energy 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.