Munich Reinsurance Co Stock Corp in Munich Invests $42.47 Million in Atmos Energy Corporation $ATO

Key Points

• Munich Re acquired 251,940 shares of Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) in Q4, a new stake valued at about $42.47 million and representing roughly 0.16% ownership.
• Atmos is highly institutionally held (about 90.17%), with major managers like Capital International Investors and State Street increasing positions to roughly 10.97M and 10.63M shares (valued near $1.87B and $1.82B, respectively).
• Analysts’ consensus is an overall "Hold" with an average price target of $181.11; Atmos trades around $185.47, has a market cap of about $30.7B and pays a $4.00 annual dividend (~2.2% yield).

Munich Reinsurance Co Stock Corp in Munich acquired a new stake in Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 251,940 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $42,472,000. Munich Reinsurance Co Stock Corp in Munich owned about 0.16% of Atmos Energy as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Capital International Investors increased its holdings in Atmos Energy by 3.4% in the third quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 10,965,840 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,872,162,000 after buying an additional 359,780 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in Atmos Energy by 3.5% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,630,522 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,815,162,000 after buying an additional 356,942 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in Atmos Energy by 2.3% in the third quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 3,737,053 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $638,102,000 after buying an additional 84,786 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in Atmos Energy by 0.6% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,099,360 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $529,216,000 after buying an additional 17,022 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in Atmos Energy by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,975,460 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $331,146,000 after buying an additional 25,963 shares during the last quarter. 90.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on the company. Barclays lifted their target price on Atmos Energy from $167.00 to $184.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Atmos Energy from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, March 7th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Atmos Energy from $163.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Truist Financial started coverage on Atmos Energy in a research note on Tuesday. They issued a "hold" rating and a $195.00 target price for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Atmos Energy from $197.00 to $195.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $181.11.

Atmos Energy Stock Performance

ATO opened at $185.47 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $30.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 1.02. Atmos Energy Corporation has a 1-year low of $149.98 and a 1-year high of $192.51. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $185.04 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $176.39.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The utilities provider reported $2.44 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.41 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $1.34 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.21 billion. Atmos Energy had a return on equity of 9.20% and a net margin of 25.67%.During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.23 earnings per share. Atmos Energy has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.150-8.350 EPS. Research analysts predict 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 given a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 23rd. Atmos Energy's dividend payout ratio 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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