LRT Capital Management LLC Buys New Position in Atmos Energy Corporation $ATO

LRT Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 13,197 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,212,000. Atmos Energy accounts for approximately 1.9% of LRT Capital Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest position.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of ATO. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy in the 4th quarter worth approximately $331,426,000. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 94.9% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 3,652,267 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $562,851,000 after acquiring an additional 1,778,653 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 26,269.9% in the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,033,701 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $173,279,000 after acquiring an additional 1,029,781 shares during the period. Capital International Investors lifted its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 8.5% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 11,893,826 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,993,968,000 after acquiring an additional 927,986 shares during the period. Finally, PFA Pension Forsikringsaktieselskab bought a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy in the 4th quarter worth approximately $107,729,000. Institutional investors own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on the company. TD Cowen raised their price objective on Atmos Energy from $193.00 to $196.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Morgan Stanley set a $183.00 price objective on Atmos Energy in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Citigroup raised their price objective on Atmos Energy from $182.00 to $191.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Barclays raised their price objective on Atmos Energy from $167.00 to $184.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Finally, Truist Financial dropped their target price on Atmos Energy from $195.00 to $187.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $181.90.

Atmos Energy Trading Up 0.9%

Shares of ATO opened at $169.82 on Friday. Atmos Energy Corporation has a 1 year low of $149.98 and a 1 year high of $192.51. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $180.42 and a 200-day simple moving average of $176.65. The stock has a market cap of $28.35 billion, a PE ratio of 20.86, a PEG ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.60.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $3.47 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $1.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.94 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.03 EPS. Atmos Energy has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.400-8.500 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Atmos Energy Corporation will post 8.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 8th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 26th were issued a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 26th. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 49.14%.

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.