Atmos Energy Corporation $ATO Shares Newly Acquired by Vista Investment Partners LLC

Vista Investment Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 3,404 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $533,000.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Compound Planning Inc. lifted its stake in Atmos Energy by 3.7% in the 1st quarter. Compound Planning Inc. now owns 1,716 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $317,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 8,153 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,506,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 39.1% during the first quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 235 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 6.3% in the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,119 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $193,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amarillo National Bank increased its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 0.3% in the first quarter. Amarillo National Bank now owns 28,641 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,291,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. 90.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently commented on ATO. Barclays dropped their price target on Atmos Energy from $184.00 to $183.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on Atmos Energy in a research note on Monday, July 13th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $200.00 price objective on the stock. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on Atmos Energy from $188.00 to $179.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 13th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Atmos Energy in a report on Friday, August 28th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Atmos Energy presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $183.58.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director William Ware bought 300 shares of Atmos Energy stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $167.59 per share, with a total value of $50,277.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 488 shares in the company, valued at $81,783.92. The trade was a 159.57% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.43% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Atmos Energy Trading Up 0.8%

ATO traded up $1.21 on Thursday, hitting $160.41. The company had a trading volume of 341,559 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,225,475. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $165.34 and its 200 day simple moving average is $174.01. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. Atmos Energy Corporation has a 12-month low of $154.72 and a 12-month high of $192.51. The company has a market cap of $27.11 billion, a PE ratio of 19.10, a PEG ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 0.57.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $879.06 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $900.82 million. Atmos Energy had a return on equity of 9.67% and a net margin of 28.50%.During the same period last year, the company earned $1.16 EPS. Atmos Energy has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.400-8.500 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Atmos Energy Corporation will post 8.47 EPS for the current year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 24th were given a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 24th. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. Atmos Energy’s payout ratio is 47.62%.

Atmos Energy Company Profile

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.