Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Purchases Shares of 428,952 Atmos Energy Corporation $ATO

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO) during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm purchased 428,952 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $73,896,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Garner Asset Management Corp bought a new position in shares of Atmos Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Kingdom Financial Group LLC. acquired a new stake in Atmos Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in Atmos Energy by 627.3% in the second quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 160 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 138 shares during the last quarter. Western Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Atmos Energy in the first quarter worth $34,000. Finally, DV Equities LLC purchased a new position in Atmos Energy in the fourth quarter worth $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on ATO. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on Atmos Energy in a report on Monday, July 13th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $200.00 price objective for the company. Barclays dropped their target price on Atmos Energy from $184.00 to $183.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. TD Cowen upped their target price on Atmos Energy from $193.00 to $196.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Morgan Stanley set a $196.00 price target on Atmos Energy in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Atmos Energy from $196.00 to $198.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Atmos Energy presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $188.27.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director William James Ware purchased 300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $167.59 per share, for a total transaction of $50,277.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 488 shares in the company, valued at $81,783.92. This trade represents a 159.57% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.43% of the company’s stock.

Atmos Energy Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of Atmos Energy stock opened at $171.16 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $173.57 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $178.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $28.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.35, a PEG ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.60. Atmos Energy Corporation has a 12-month low of $160.10 and a 12-month 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.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $879.06 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 previous year, the firm posted $1.16 earnings per share. Atmos Energy has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.400-8.500 EPS. Analysts predict that Atmos Energy Corporation will post 8.46 EPS for the current year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 24th will be given a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 24th. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. Atmos Energy’s payout ratio is currently 47.56%.

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.