50,104 Shares of Atmos Energy Corporation $ATO Purchased by American National Bank & Trust

American National Bank & Trust acquired a new position in Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 50,104 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $7,838,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of ATO. First Community Trust NA acquired a new position in shares of Atmos Energy in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $203,000. Juncture Wealth Strategies LLC acquired a new position in shares of Atmos Energy in the third quarter valued at approximately $110,000. RVW Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Atmos Energy during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $158,000. Ables Iannone Moore & Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy during the third quarter worth $1,033,000. Finally, Central Pacific Bank Trust Division acquired a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy in the third quarter valued at $99,000. 90.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Atmos Energy

In other news, Director William Ware bought 300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $167.59 per share, with a total value of $50,277.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 488 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $81,783.92. This represents a 159.57% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.43% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ATO has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $173.00 to $167.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 1st. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on shares of Atmos Energy in a research report on Monday, July 13th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $200.00 price target for the company. Barclays reduced their target price on Atmos Energy from $184.00 to $183.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and set a $180.00 target price (down from $198.00) on shares of Atmos Energy in a research report on Friday, September 11th. Finally, Truist Financial decreased their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $188.00 to $179.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 13th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Atmos Energy has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $183.58.

Atmos Energy Price Performance

ATO traded up $0.31 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $160.05. 205,428 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,223,306. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.73. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $165.71 and its 200 day moving average price is $174.19. Atmos Energy Corporation has a 1-year low of $154.72 and a 1-year high of $192.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $27.05 billion, a PE ratio of 19.06, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.57.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $879.06 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $900.82 million. Atmos Energy had a return on equity of 9.67% and a net margin of 28.50%.During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.16 earnings per share. Atmos Energy has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.400-8.500 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Atmos Energy Corporation will post 8.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 24th were paid a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 24th. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 47.62%.

Atmos Energy Profile

Atmos Energy Corporation is a regulated natural gas distribution and pipeline company headquartered in Dallas, Texas. The company delivers natural gas to residential, commercial, industrial and institutional customers and is one of the largest natural gas distributors in the United States.

Atmos Energy operates through two primary businesses: natural gas distribution and pipeline and storage operations. Its distribution activities include acquiring, transporting, storing and delivering natural gas, while its pipeline operations provide transportation and storage services and support the company’s distribution network.

The company serves customers across eight states, including Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Colorado, Kansas, Kentucky, Tennessee and Virginia.