Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Takes $73.90 Million Position in Atmos Energy Corporation $ATO

Key Points

• Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management acquired 428,952 Atmos Energy shares worth approximately $73.9 million, giving it a 0.26% stake. Institutional investors collectively own 90.17% of the utility company.
• Atmos Energy reported quarterly EPS of $1.43, exceeding the $1.35 consensus estimate, while revenue of $879.1 million fell short of expectations. Analysts expect full-year EPS of about $8.46, and the company issued guidance of $8.40–$8.50.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $1.00, equivalent to $4.00 annually and a 2.3% yield. Analysts maintain a consensus “Hold” rating with an average price target of $188.27, versus a recent share price of $171.16.

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 428,952 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $73,896,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned 0.26% of Atmos Energy at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Garner Asset Management Corp purchased a new position in shares of Atmos Energy in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Kingdom Financial Group LLC. purchased a new position in Atmos Energy during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in Atmos Energy by 627.3% during the second quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 160 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 138 shares in the last quarter. Western Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Atmos Energy in the 1st quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, DV Equities LLC bought a new stake in Atmos Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. 90.17% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ATO has been the topic of several research reports. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Atmos Energy from a "buy (b+)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $182.00 to $191.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $193.00 to $196.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Morgan Stanley set a $196.00 target price on shares of Atmos Energy in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Atmos Energy from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. 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 MarketBeat.com, Atmos Energy currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $188.27.

Atmos Energy Stock Performance

NYSE:ATO opened at $171.16 on Thursday. The stock's fifty day moving average is $173.57 and its 200 day moving average is $178.31. Atmos Energy Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $160.10 and a fifty-two week high of $192.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $28.92 billion, a PE ratio of 20.35, a PEG ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 0.81.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $879.06 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $900.82 million. Atmos Energy had a return on equity of 9.67% and a net margin of 28.50%.During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.16 earnings per share. Atmos Energy has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.400-8.500 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Atmos Energy Corporation will post 8.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 8th. Investors of record on Monday, August 24th will be paid a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 24th. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. Atmos Energy's payout ratio is 47.56%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director William James Ware bought 300 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was bought at an average price of $167.59 per share, for a total transaction of $50,277.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 488 shares in the company, valued at approximately $81,783.92. This represents a 159.57% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.43% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.

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