First Trust Advisors LP Sells 121,010 Shares of Atmos Energy Corporation $ATO

First Trust Advisors LP lessened its stake in Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO) by 26.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 340,408 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 121,010 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP owned 0.20% of Atmos Energy worth $62,880,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Magellan Asset Management Ltd increased its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 30.9% during the first quarter. Magellan Asset Management Ltd now owns 181,367 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $33,502,000 after acquiring an additional 42,813 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 1.3% during the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 886,291 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $163,716,000 after acquiring an additional 11,318 shares in the last quarter. Oslo Pensjonsforsikring AS purchased a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy in the first quarter valued at approximately $70,000. Glenview Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy in the first quarter valued at approximately $413,000. Finally, Florida Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in Atmos Energy by 16.8% in the first quarter. Florida Financial Advisors LLC now owns 7,524 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,390,000 after purchasing an additional 1,081 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

Atmos Energy Price Performance

NYSE ATO opened at $179.24 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 1.00. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $173.76 and its 200-day moving average price is $177.67. Atmos Energy Corporation has a 52-week low of $154.23 and a 52-week high of $192.51. The company has a market cap of $29.92 billion, a PE ratio of 22.02, a P/E/G ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.60.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $3.47 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.37 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $1.96 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.94 billion. Atmos Energy had a net margin of 27.58% and a return on equity of 9.59%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.03 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 8.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 8th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 26th were issued a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 26th. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 49.14%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Barclays reduced their price objective 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. Weiss Ratings cut Atmos Energy from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Wall Street Zen raised Atmos Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday. TD Cowen raised their price target on Atmos Energy from $193.00 to $196.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Finally, Argus cut their price target on Atmos Energy from $190.00 to $185.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Atmos Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $186.92.

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.