ProShare Advisors LLC Boosts Stock Position in Atmos Energy Corporation $ATO

ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO) by 6.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,112,097 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 70,355 shares during the quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.69% of Atmos Energy worth $189,891,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Atmos Energy Trading Down 0.0%

Shares of ATO opened at $171.44 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $28.36 billion, a PE ratio of 22.26, a P/E/G ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.75. The company’s fifty day moving average is $168.42 and its 200 day moving average is $168.85. 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 $140.85 and a fifty-two week high of $180.65.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 3rd. The utilities provider reported $2.44 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.41 by $0.03. Atmos Energy had a net margin of 25.67% and a return on equity of 9.20%. The business had revenue of $1.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.21 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.23 earnings per share. Atmos Energy has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.150-8.350 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Atmos Energy Corporation will post 7.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 9th. Shareholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 51.95%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on ATO. Morgan Stanley reissued an “underperform” rating and set a $180.00 target price on shares of Atmos Energy in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Atmos Energy in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Atmos Energy to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 18th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Atmos Energy from $163.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday. 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 assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $174.33.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Sean Donohue sold 450 shares of Atmos Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.15, for a total value of $77,017.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 877 shares in the company, valued at approximately $150,098.55. The trade was a 33.91% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.43% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.