Atmos Energy Corporation $ATO Shares Sold by Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO) by 3.3% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 394,689 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 13,513 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $72,907,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Atmos Energy in the 4th quarter valued at about $331,426,000. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its stake 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 in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted 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 valued at $173,279,000 after purchasing an additional 1,029,781 shares during the period. Capital International Investors boosted its holdings in shares of 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 purchased a new position in shares of Atmos Energy during the fourth quarter worth approximately $107,729,000. 90.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Atmos Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ATO traded up $1.50 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $176.22. The stock had a trading volume of 527,259 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,242,316. The company has a market capitalization of $29.42 billion, a PE ratio of 21.65, a P/E/G ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.60. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $174.74 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $177.01. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. Atmos Energy Corporation has a 1 year low of $152.80 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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.37 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $1.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.94 billion. Atmos Energy had a net margin of 27.58% and a return on equity of 9.59%. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.03 earnings per share. Atmos Energy has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.400-8.500 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Atmos Energy Corporation will post 8.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ATO has been the subject of several research reports. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Atmos Energy from $167.00 to $184.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $193.00 to $196.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $182.00 to $191.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Truist Financial decreased their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $195.00 to $187.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 18th. Finally, Mizuho lowered their price target on Atmos Energy from $192.00 to $184.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 29th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $183.90.

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.