Aberdeen Group plc Buys 15,159 Shares of Atmos Energy Corporation $ATO

Aberdeen Group plc grew its stake in shares of Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO) by 8.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 201,638 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 15,159 shares during the quarter. Aberdeen Group plc owned 0.13% of Atmos Energy worth $34,188,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Root Financial Partners LLC bought a new stake in Atmos Energy during the third quarter worth about $25,000. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Atmos Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. lifted its position in Atmos Energy by 105.4% in the 3rd quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 191 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. WFA of San Diego LLC bought a new stake in Atmos Energy in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $46,000. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its stake in Atmos Energy by 30.4% in the third quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 279 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $48,000 after buying an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. 90.17% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Atmos Energy

In related news, Director Sean Donohue sold 450 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.15, for a total value of $77,017.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 877 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $150,098.55. This represents a 33.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.43% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on ATO. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Atmos Energy from $159.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $163.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Atmos Energy from $165.00 to $167.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, February 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Atmos Energy in a report on Monday, December 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $174.33.

Atmos Energy Price Performance

Shares of ATO stock opened at $179.16 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.13. Atmos Energy Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $141.59 and a fifty-two week high of $180.65. The firm has a market cap of $29.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.27, a P/E/G ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 0.75. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $169.13 and its 200-day moving average price is $169.70.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The utilities provider reported $2.44 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.41 by $0.03. Atmos Energy had a return on equity of 9.20% and a net margin of 25.67%.The company had revenue of $1.34 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.21 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.23 earnings per share. Atmos Energy has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.150-8.350 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Atmos Energy Corporation will post 7.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 9th. Investors of record on Monday, February 23rd will be given a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 23rd. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. Atmos Energy’s payout ratio is currently 51.95%.

Atmos Energy Company 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.