First Trust Advisors LP Cuts Stock Position in Atmos Energy Corporation $ATO

First Trust Advisors LP lessened its holdings in Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO) by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 577,816 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 10,680 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $98,662,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of ATO. Brighton Jones LLC bought a new position in Atmos Energy during the fourth quarter valued at $233,000. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC increased its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 10.8% in the 1st quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 3,168 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $490,000 after buying an additional 308 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 8.3% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 17,312 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,676,000 after buying an additional 1,331 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC raised its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 8.5% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 3,117 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $482,000 after buying an additional 245 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Woodline Partners LP lifted its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 43.9% in the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 13,410 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,073,000 after acquiring an additional 4,088 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ATO has been the subject of several recent research reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Atmos Energy in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Barclays upped their price objective on 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 raised Atmos Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday. Zacks Research raised Atmos Energy to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 18th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on Atmos Energy from $163.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Atmos Energy has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $175.67.

Atmos Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ATO opened at $185.14 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. Atmos Energy Corporation has a 12 month low of $141.59 and a 12 month high of $187.98. The company has a market capitalization of $30.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.04, a PEG ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 0.74. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $173.70 and its 200 day moving average is $171.82.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 3rd. The utilities provider reported $2.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 the consensus estimate of $1.21 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.23 earnings per share. Atmos Energy has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.150-8.350 EPS. Research analysts predict that Atmos Energy Corporation will post 7.18 EPS for the current year.

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 9th. Investors of record on Monday, February 23rd were paid a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 23rd. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 51.95%.

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.