M&T Bank Corp Decreases Holdings in Atmos Energy Corporation $ATO

Key Points

• M&T Bank Corp cut its stake in Atmos Energy by 68.6% in the 4th quarter, selling 31,939 shares and leaving it with 14,610 shares valued at $2.36 million.
• Other institutions were active too — Woodline Partners increased its stake by 43.9% and overall institutional ownership stands at 90.17% of the shares.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed but cautious: the consensus rating is "Hold" with a target of $181.11; Atmos posted a slight quarterly EPS beat, set FY2026 guidance of 8.150–8.350 EPS, and pays a $1.00 quarterly dividend (≈2.2% yield).

M&T Bank Corp trimmed its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO - Free Report) by 68.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 14,610 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 31,939 shares during the quarter. M&T Bank Corp's holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $2,361,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ATO. Brighton Jones LLC purchased a new stake in Atmos Energy in the 4th quarter worth about $233,000. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC raised its position in Atmos Energy by 10.8% in the 1st quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 3,168 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $490,000 after purchasing an additional 308 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its position in Atmos Energy by 8.3% in the 1st 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 raised its position in Atmos Energy by 8.5% in the 1st 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% in the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 13,410 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,073,000 after acquiring an additional 4,088 shares in the last quarter. 90.17% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ATO has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $197.00 to $195.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Atmos Energy from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, March 7th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Atmos Energy from a "buy (b+)" rating to a "buy (a-)" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Truist Financial initiated coverage on shares of Atmos Energy in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. They issued a "hold" rating and a $195.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $163.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Atmos Energy currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $181.11.

Atmos Energy Price Performance

NYSE ATO opened at $185.67 on Tuesday. 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 firm's 50 day moving average price is $185.17 and its 200-day moving average price is $176.48. Atmos Energy Corporation has a 52-week low of $149.98 and a 52-week high of $192.51. The company has a market cap of $30.72 billion, a PE ratio of 24.11, a P/E/G ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 0.69.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 3rd. The utilities provider reported $2.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.41 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $1.34 billion for 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 period last year, the firm earned $2.23 earnings per share. Atmos Energy has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.150-8.350 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Atmos Energy Corporation will post 8.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 9th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 23rd were paid a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 23rd. Atmos Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 51.95%.

Atmos Energy Company 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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