Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) Hits New 1-Year High – Here’s What Happened

Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO) shares reached a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $181.08 and last traded at $182.7050, with a volume of 1037441 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $178.97.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ATO has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Atmos Energy to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 18th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, February 7th. Citigroup upped their price objective on Atmos Energy from $163.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Mizuho lifted their target price on Atmos Energy from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $192.00 price target on Atmos Energy in a research report on Friday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $175.67.

Atmos Energy Stock Down 0.0%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $170.13 and its 200-day moving average is $170.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $29.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.52, a PEG ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 0.75.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 3rd. The utilities provider reported $2.44 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.41 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $1.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.21 billion. Atmos Energy had a return on equity of 9.20% and a net margin of 25.67%.During the same period in the previous 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, sell-side analysts predict that Atmos Energy Corporation will post 7.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Sean Donohue sold 450 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.15, for a total transaction of $77,017.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 877 shares in the company, valued at $150,098.55. The trade was a 33.91% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.43% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Atmos Energy

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ATO. W.H. Cornerstone Investments Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 16.7% during the 2nd quarter. W.H. Cornerstone Investments Inc. now owns 7,625 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,175,000 after acquiring an additional 1,093 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 206.8% during the third quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 26,925 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,597,000 after purchasing an additional 18,148 shares during the period. Allstate Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy during the third quarter valued at $961,000. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund lifted its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 33.8% during the third quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 18,332 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,130,000 after purchasing an additional 4,636 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich boosted its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 267.0% in the 2nd quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 2,822 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $435,000 after purchasing an additional 2,053 shares during the period. 90.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.