Magellan Asset Management Ltd Lowers Stake in Atmos Energy Corporation $ATO

Magellan Asset Management Ltd cut its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO) by 0.5% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 116,259 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 629 shares during the period. Magellan Asset Management Ltd owned approximately 0.07% of Atmos Energy worth $17,917,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Aviva PLC grew its holdings in Atmos Energy by 8.4% in the second quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 118,670 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $18,288,000 after purchasing an additional 9,180 shares during the period. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. lifted its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 177.1% during the 2nd quarter. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. now owns 4,004 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $617,000 after buying an additional 2,559 shares in the last quarter. Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC grew its stake in Atmos Energy by 24.0% in the 2nd quarter. Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC now owns 674,233 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $103,906,000 after acquiring an additional 130,536 shares during the period. Sound Financial Strategies Group LLC grew its stake in Atmos Energy by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter. Sound Financial Strategies Group LLC now owns 5,062 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $780,000 after acquiring an additional 93 shares during the period. Finally, Sienna Gestion increased its holdings in Atmos Energy by 9.0% in the 2nd quarter. Sienna Gestion now owns 68,217 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $9,598,000 after acquiring an additional 5,618 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays set a $175.00 target price on shares of Atmos Energy in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. Cowen started coverage on Atmos Energy in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Argus set a $172.00 target price on Atmos Energy in a report on Thursday, September 18th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $167.00 to $181.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. Finally, Bank of America restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $185.00 target price (up from $182.00) on shares of Atmos Energy in a report on Thursday, October 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Atmos Energy has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $170.44.

Atmos Energy Stock Performance

Shares of Atmos Energy stock opened at $176.96 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a current ratio of 1.37. Atmos Energy Corporation has a one year low of $136.05 and a one year high of $180.65. The company has a market cap of $28.41 billion, a PE ratio of 24.31, a P/E/G ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.73. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $170.68 and a 200-day simple moving average of $162.14.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.07 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.01 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $754.64 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $726.97 million. Atmos Energy had a net margin of 25.05% and a return on equity of 9.00%. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.08 EPS. Atmos Energy has set its FY 2025 guidance at 8.150-8.350 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Atmos Energy Corporation will post 7.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 24th will be paid a $1.00 dividend. This is an increase from Atmos Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.87. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 24th. Atmos Energy’s payout ratio is currently 53.40%.

Atmos Energy Company Profile

Atmos Energy Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the regulated natural gas distribution, and pipeline and storage businesses in the United States. It operates through two segments, Distribution, and Pipeline and Storage. The Distribution segment is involved in the regulated natural gas distribution and related sales operations in eight states.