Empowered Funds LLC Takes Position in Atmos Energy Corporation $ATO

Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new position in Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO) in the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm purchased 8,349 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,438,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. United Capital Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in Atmos Energy during the second quarter valued at approximately $944,000. Dearborn Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Atmos Energy during the 2nd quarter valued at $32,443,000. Equitable Holdings Inc. purchased a new stake in Atmos Energy during the 2nd quarter valued at $273,000. FSA Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Atmos Energy during the 2nd quarter valued at $309,000. Finally, Coastal Bridge Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Atmos Energy in the 2nd quarter worth $1,070,000. 90.17% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Atmos Energy

In other news, Director William Ware bought 300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was bought at an average price of $167.59 per share, with a total value of $50,277.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 488 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $81,783.92. This represents a 159.57% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.43% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ATO has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Argus cut their price objective on Atmos Energy from $190.00 to $185.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. Wall Street Zen downgraded Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. 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 report on Tuesday, July 14th. Truist Financial cut their price target on Atmos Energy from $188.00 to $179.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Atmos Energy from $196.00 to $190.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 21st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Atmos Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $187.73.

Atmos Energy Trading Up 0.7%

Atmos Energy stock opened at $168.84 on Friday. Atmos Energy Corporation has a 12-month low of $160.10 and a 12-month high of $192.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $28.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.08, a P/E/G ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.60. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $173.04 and a 200 day moving average of $177.97. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.43 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $879.06 million for 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 quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.16 earnings per share. Atmos Energy has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.400-8.500 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Atmos Energy Corporation will post 8.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 8th. Investors 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. Atmos Energy’s payout ratio is 47.56%.

About Atmos Energy

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.