Athena Wealth Management LLC Buys New Stake in Atmos Energy Corporation $ATO

Athena Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 4,755 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $744,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Central Bank & Trust Co. bought a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy in the 3rd quarter worth about $4,780,000. Douglas Lane & Associates LLC bought a new position in Atmos Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at about $4,374,000. Breakwater Capital Group bought a new position in Atmos Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at about $179,000. Chapin Davis Inc. acquired a new position in Atmos Energy in the third quarter valued at about $4,539,000. Finally, Hardin Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in Atmos Energy during the third quarter worth about $165,000. 90.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Atmos Energy Price Performance

Shares of ATO stock traded up $0.70 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $161.37. 223,807 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,229,692. Atmos Energy Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $154.72 and a fifty-two week high of $192.51. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $165.08 and its two-hundred day moving average is $173.87. The company has a market cap of $27.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.21, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.73.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.08. Atmos Energy had a net margin of 28.50% and a return on equity of 9.67%. The business had revenue of $879.06 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $900.82 million. 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. Sell-side analysts forecast that Atmos Energy Corporation will post 8.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 24th were paid a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 24th. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 47.62%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on ATO shares. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $173.00 to $167.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 1st. Barclays dropped their price target 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. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Atmos Energy from $190.00 to $179.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 18th. Argus reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $185.00 price objective on shares of Atmos Energy in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Atmos Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $183.58.

Insider Activity at Atmos Energy

In other news, Director William Ware bought 300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was bought at an average price of $167.59 per share, for a total transaction of $50,277.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 488 shares in the company, valued at $81,783.92. The trade was 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. Company insiders own 0.43% of the company’s stock.

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.