SageGuard Financial Group LLC Makes New Investment in Atmos Energy Corporation $ATO

SageGuard Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 5,329 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $893,000.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its holdings in Atmos Energy by 206.8% during the 3rd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 26,925 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,597,000 after purchasing an additional 18,148 shares during the period. Allstate Corp acquired a new position in Atmos Energy during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $961,000. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund grew its holdings in Atmos Energy by 33.8% during the 3rd quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 18,332 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,130,000 after acquiring an additional 4,636 shares in the last quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd grew its holdings in Atmos Energy by 133.1% during the 3rd quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd now owns 39,904 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $6,814,000 after acquiring an additional 22,784 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Calton & Associates Inc. acquired a new position in Atmos Energy during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $901,000. 90.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on ATO shares. Weiss Ratings raised Atmos Energy from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley set a $192.00 price target on Atmos Energy in a report on Friday, February 20th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $167.00 to $184.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Atmos Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, March 7th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $163.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $179.00.

Atmos Energy Price Performance

ATO stock opened at $186.35 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $30.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.20, a PEG ratio of 3.22 and a beta of 0.69. Atmos Energy Corporation has a twelve month low of $149.98 and a twelve month high of $192.51. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $184.41 and a 200-day simple moving average of $176.09. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The utilities provider reported $2.44 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.41 by $0.03. Atmos Energy had a net margin of 25.67% and a return on equity of 9.20%. The business had revenue of $1.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.21 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.23 earnings per share. Atmos Energy has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.150-8.350 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Atmos Energy Corporation will post 8.26 EPS for the current year.

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 9th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 23rd were issued a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 23rd. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Atmos Energy’s payout ratio is presently 51.95%.

About Atmos Energy

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.