Summit Global Investments Lowers Stock Position in Atmos Energy Corporation $ATO

Key Points

• Summit Global Investments cut its Atmos Energy stake by 57.9% in the first quarter, leaving it with 10,061 shares valued at about $1.86 million.
• Wall Street sentiment remains cautious: the stock has a Hold consensus rating, with 4 Buy ratings and 10 Hold ratings, and a consensus price target of $186.42.
• Atmos Energy reported strong quarterly earnings, posting $3.47 EPS versus $3.37 expected, and it also paid a $1.00 quarterly dividend, equal to a 2.3% annual yield.

Summit Global Investments trimmed its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO - Free Report) by 57.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,061 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 13,818 shares during the period. Summit Global Investments' holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $1,859,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Compound Planning Inc. grew its holdings in Atmos Energy by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Compound Planning Inc. now owns 1,654 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $277,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the period. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC lifted its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 1,579 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $265,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the period. MGO One Seven LLC lifted its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. MGO One Seven LLC now owns 1,514 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $254,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the period. Wealthfront Advisers LLC boosted its holdings in Atmos Energy by 0.8% during the first quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 8,153 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,506,000 after buying an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Root Financial Partners LLC grew its position in Atmos Energy by 39.1% during the first quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 235 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 66 shares during the period. 90.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on ATO. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Atmos Energy from $196.00 to $198.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on Atmos Energy from $193.00 to $196.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Mizuho reduced their price objective on Atmos Energy from $192.00 to $184.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 29th. Wall Street Zen lowered Atmos Energy from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday. Finally, Barclays cut their price target on Atmos Energy from $184.00 to $183.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Atmos Energy currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $186.42.

Atmos Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ATO opened at $177.38 on Tuesday. The business's fifty day moving average price is $173.93 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $177.47. The stock has a market cap of $29.61 billion, a PE ratio of 21.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 1.00. Atmos Energy Corporation has a one year low of $154.23 and a one year high of $192.51.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $3.47 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $1.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.94 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.03 earnings per share. Atmos Energy has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.400-8.500 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Atmos Energy Corporation will post 8.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

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

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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