MBL Wealth LLC Buys New Position in Atmos Energy Corporation $ATO

MBL Wealth LLC bought a new position in Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 5,637 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $882,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Compass Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Atmos Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at about $82,000. Root Financial Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy in the 3rd quarter worth $244,000. Obermeyer Wealth Partners raised its position in Atmos Energy by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. Obermeyer Wealth Partners now owns 17,273 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,702,000 after buying an additional 470 shares during the last quarter. Vest Financial LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 274,575 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $42,955,000 after acquiring an additional 9,127 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisors L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisors L.P. now owns 7,129 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,115,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on ATO shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and set a $180.00 price objective (down from $198.00) on shares of Atmos Energy in a research report on Friday, September 11th. Argus reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $185.00 target price on shares of Atmos Energy in a research report on Tuesday, October 6th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $173.00 to $167.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 1st. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Atmos Energy in a report on Friday, August 28th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $183.27.

Atmos Energy Stock Down 0.8%

ATO opened at $172.49 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $29.15 billion, a PE ratio of 20.53, a PEG ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $164.04 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $172.55. Atmos Energy Corporation has a 1-year low of $154.72 and a 1-year high of $192.51.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $879.06 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 in the prior year, the firm posted $1.16 EPS. Atmos Energy has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.400-8.500 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Atmos Energy Corporation will post 8.47 EPS for the current year.

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 8th. Investors of record on Monday, August 24th were paid a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 24th. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 47.62%.

Insider Activity at Atmos Energy

In other news, Director William Ware bought 300 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $167.59 per share, for a total transaction of $50,277.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 488 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $81,783.92. The trade was a 159.57% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.43% of the company’s stock.

About Atmos Energy

Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO) is a regulated natural gas utility that distributes natural gas to residential, commercial, industrial and agricultural customers. The company also operates natural gas pipeline and storage assets, supporting the transportation and management of gas within its service areas.

Atmos Energy serves more than 3 million distribution customers across eight states, including Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee, Kentucky, Virginia, Kansas and Colorado. Its distribution operations include a large network of natural gas pipelines and related infrastructure, while its pipeline and storage business provides transportation and storage services primarily in Texas and Mississippi.

The company traces its history to 1906 and is headquartered in Dallas, Texas.