Atmos Energy Corporation $ATO Shares Acquired by Saudi Central Bank

Saudi Central Bank grew its holdings in Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO) by 94.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 11,581 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,611 shares during the quarter. Saudi Central Bank’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $1,995,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in Atmos Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $2,624,975,000. Capital International Investors raised its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 8.5% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 11,893,826 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,993,968,000 after acquiring an additional 927,986 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Atmos Energy by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,786,358 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,808,117,000 after purchasing an additional 155,836 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Atmos Energy by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,214,985 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $703,824,000 after purchasing an additional 78,438 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE grew its stake in Atmos Energy by 11.0% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 4,199,433 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $775,719,000 after purchasing an additional 416,933 shares in the last quarter. 90.17% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Atmos Energy

In related news, Director William Ware purchased 300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $167.59 per share, for a total transaction of $50,277.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 488 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $81,783.92. This trade represents a 159.57% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.43% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Atmos Energy Stock Down 0.1%

Atmos Energy stock opened at $167.38 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $28.29 billion, a PE ratio of 19.90, a P/E/G ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.73. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $172.74 and its two-hundred day moving average is $177.80. Atmos Energy Corporation has a 1-year low of $160.10 and a 1-year high of $192.51.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.08. Atmos Energy had a return on equity of 9.67% and a net margin of 28.50%.The business had revenue of $879.06 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $900.82 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.16 EPS. Atmos Energy has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.400-8.500 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Atmos Energy Corporation will post 8.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 8th. Investors of record on Monday, August 24th will be issued a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 24th. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 47.56%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on ATO. Barclays cut their price target 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. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Atmos Energy from $196.00 to $190.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 21st. Mizuho cut their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $192.00 to $184.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $196.00 to $198.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Atmos Energy from $193.00 to $196.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Atmos Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $187.73.

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.