Atmos Energy Corporation $ATO Shares Sold by Securian Asset Management Inc.

Securian Asset Management Inc. reduced its stake in Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO) by 44.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,305 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 3,390 shares during the period. Securian Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $722,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC boosted its stake in Atmos Energy by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 1,579 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $265,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the period. MGO One Seven LLC raised its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. MGO One Seven LLC now owns 1,514 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $254,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Little House Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 0.6% during the third quarter. Little House Capital LLC now owns 10,733 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,833,000 after buying an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Horizon Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 5,439 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $912,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PAX Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 2.3% during the third quarter. PAX Financial Group LLC now owns 3,178 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $543,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. 90.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Atmos Energy from $197.00 to $195.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Barclays lifted their price target on Atmos Energy from $167.00 to $184.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Truist Financial assumed coverage on Atmos Energy in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. They set a “hold” rating and a $195.00 price target on the stock. Weiss Ratings cut Atmos Energy from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Atmos Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, May 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $182.11.

Atmos Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ATO opened at $180.78 on Friday. Atmos Energy Corporation has a 12 month low of $149.98 and a 12 month high of $192.51. The stock has a market cap of $30.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.21, a PEG ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 0.65. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $185.47 and its 200 day moving average price is $177.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.89.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $3.47 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.37 by $0.10. Atmos Energy had a return on equity of 9.59% and a net margin of 27.58%.The firm had revenue of $1.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.94 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.03 earnings per share. Atmos Energy has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.400-8.500 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Atmos Energy Corporation will post 8.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 8th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 26th will be issued a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 26th. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. Atmos Energy’s payout ratio is presently 49.14%.

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.