6,604 Shares in Atmos Energy Corporation $ATO Acquired by Ables Iannone Moore & Associates Inc.

Ables Iannone Moore & Associates Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO) in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 6,604 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,033,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of ATO. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in Atmos Energy during the second quarter valued at approximately $2,624,975,000. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton grew its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 474.7% during the 3rd quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 5,971 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $934,000 after acquiring an additional 4,932 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy in the 2nd quarter worth $720,212,000. Opal Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy in the 1st quarter worth $6,154,000. Finally, Entropy Technologies LP bought a new position in Atmos Energy in the 1st quarter worth $2,558,000. 90.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Atmos Energy Price Performance

Shares of ATO stock traded up $0.81 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $158.86. The company had a trading volume of 220,070 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,224,253. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.73. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $166.11 and its 200-day moving average price is $174.37. Atmos Energy Corporation has a 52-week low of $154.72 and a 52-week high of $192.51. The company has a market capitalization of $26.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.91, a P/E/G ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.57.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.43 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $879.06 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $900.82 million. Atmos Energy had a net margin of 28.50% and a return on equity of 9.67%. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.16 earnings per share. Atmos Energy has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.400-8.500 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Atmos Energy Corporation will post 8.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 24th were issued a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 24th. Atmos Energy’s payout ratio is 47.56%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director William Ware bought 300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $167.59 per share, for a total transaction of $50,277.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 488 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $81,783.92. This represents a 159.57% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.43% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on Atmos Energy in a research report on Monday, July 13th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $200.00 price target for the company. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $184.00 to $183.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $188.00 to $179.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 13th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $190.00 to $179.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $180.00 target price (down from $198.00) on shares of Atmos Energy in a report on Friday, September 11th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Atmos Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $183.58.

About Atmos Energy

Atmos Energy Corporation is a regulated natural gas distribution and pipeline company headquartered in Dallas, Texas. The company delivers natural gas to residential, commercial, industrial and institutional customers and is one of the largest natural gas distributors in the United States.

Atmos Energy operates through two primary businesses: natural gas distribution and pipeline and storage operations. Its distribution activities include acquiring, transporting, storing and delivering natural gas, while its pipeline operations provide transportation and storage services and support the company’s distribution network.

The company serves customers across eight states, including Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Colorado, Kansas, Kentucky, Tennessee and Virginia.