Atmos Energy Corporation $ATO Shares Bought by Clark Capital Management Group Inc.

Clark Capital Management Group Inc. raised its stake in Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO) by 13.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 369,236 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 45,194 shares during the quarter. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. owned approximately 0.22% of Atmos Energy worth $61,895,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Atmos Energy Trading Down 0.0%

Shares of ATO stock opened at $169.55 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.89. The company has a market cap of $28.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.83, a PEG ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.60. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $179.64 and a 200-day simple moving average of $176.59. Atmos Energy Corporation has a 1-year low of $149.98 and a 1-year high of $192.51.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $3.47 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 in the previous year, the business earned $3.03 earnings per share. Atmos Energy has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.400-8.500 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Atmos Energy Corporation will post 8.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 8th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 26th were given a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 26th. Atmos Energy’s payout ratio is presently 49.14%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ATO has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. TD Cowen boosted their price target on Atmos Energy from $193.00 to $196.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Mizuho reduced their target price on Atmos Energy from $192.00 to $184.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Truist Financial reduced their target price on Atmos Energy from $195.00 to $187.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 18th. Wall Street Zen raised Atmos Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 11th. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on Atmos Energy from $182.00 to $191.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Atmos Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $181.90.

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.