Atmos Energy Corporation $ATO Shares Newly Acquired by Viking Fund Management LLC

Viking Fund Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 17,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,659,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of ATO. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Atmos Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,624,975,000. Bank of America Corp DE grew its holdings in Atmos Energy by 11.0% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 4,199,433 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $775,719,000 after purchasing an additional 416,933 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG acquired a new position in Atmos Energy during the second quarter worth approximately $431,677,000. Amundi increased its position in Atmos Energy by 40.0% during the second quarter. Amundi now owns 1,823,714 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $314,171,000 after buying an additional 520,828 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new position in Atmos Energy during the second quarter worth approximately $276,558,000. 90.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on Atmos Energy from $188.00 to $179.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 13th. Barclays decreased their target price on Atmos Energy from $184.00 to $183.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Argus restated a “buy” rating and issued a $185.00 price target on shares of Atmos Energy in a research note on Tuesday, October 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $180.00 price target (down from $198.00) on shares of Atmos Energy in a report on Friday, September 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on Atmos Energy in a report on Monday, July 13th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $200.00 price target for the company. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $183.58.

Insider Activity at Atmos Energy

In other news, Director William Ware bought 300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were bought at an average price of $167.59 per share, with a total value of $50,277.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 488 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $81,783.92. This trade represents a 159.57% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.43% of the company’s stock.

Atmos Energy Stock Performance

Shares of ATO stock opened at $163.89 on Thursday. Atmos Energy Corporation has a 52 week low of $154.72 and a 52 week high of $192.51. The company has a market capitalization of $27.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.51, a PEG ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $164.27 and a 200 day simple moving average of $173.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 0.81.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $879.06 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 prior year, the firm earned $1.16 EPS. Atmos Energy has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.400-8.500 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Atmos Energy Corporation will post 8.47 earnings per share for the current 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 given a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 24th. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 47.62%.

Atmos Energy Company 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.