Insider Buying: Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) Director Acquires $50,277.00 in Stock

Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO) Director William James Ware bought 300 shares of Atmos Energy stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $167.59 per share, for a total transaction of $50,277.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 488 shares in the company, valued at $81,783.92. The trade was a 159.57% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Atmos Energy Price Performance

Shares of ATO opened at $169.79 on Friday. Atmos Energy Corporation has a 52 week low of $160.10 and a 52 week high of $192.51. 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 has a market cap of $28.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.19, a PEG ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.60. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $173.43 and a 200-day moving average of $178.17.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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. Atmos Energy had a return on equity of 9.67% and a net margin of 28.50%.The business had revenue of $879.06 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $900.82 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.16 EPS. Atmos Energy has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.400-8.500 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Atmos Energy Corporation will post 8.46 EPS for the current year.

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 24th will be paid a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 24th. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. Atmos Energy’s payout ratio is presently 47.56%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Mizuho lowered their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $192.00 to $184.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Argus dropped their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $190.00 to $185.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Atmos Energy from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Atmos Energy from $196.00 to $198.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $188.27.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Atmos Energy

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Atmos Energy during the second quarter valued at $2,624,975,000. Deutsche Bank AG acquired a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy in the 2nd quarter worth about $431,677,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy in the 4th quarter worth about $331,426,000. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its position in Atmos Energy by 94.9% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 3,652,267 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $562,851,000 after purchasing an additional 1,778,653 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc bought a new stake in Atmos Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at about $276,558,000. 90.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Atmos Energy Company 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.